


Abandoned

by Leven_the_Valkyrie



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Being Rewritten, Forests, Kidnapping, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Nymphs - Freeform, Wolves, woods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-09 04:48:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 20
Words: 52,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1969620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leven_the_Valkyrie/pseuds/Leven_the_Valkyrie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stay out of the forest. That's all Roxas was supposed to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Roxas Jecht. He was the third child out of four. He had an older brother named Cloud, an older twin named Sora, and a little sister, Naminé. Roxas lived in a small house with his siblings, parents, and uncle.

The blond's parents' names were Tidus and Yuna. The two were high school sweet-hearts. At the age of sixteen, Yuna found out she was pregnant with Cloud. Both of them dropped out of school to support the baby. Yuna became a full time stay at home mom and Tidus took on odd jobs. A couple of years later, when Yuna and Tidus were eighteen, they got married and soon after the twins were born.

With three little babies and not enough income, Tidus went to his wife's father for help. Braska's idea was to send his longtime friend, Auron, to go live with them. The older man was retired so he offered an extra hand to Yuna with taking care of the babies and offered them his pension to the family every month to help pay bills.

Being the youngest, Roxas had been picked on by his brother. When, on his eighth birthday, his mother announced that she was going to have another baby soon, he excited not to be the baby of the family. And five months later baby, Naminé was born. The little girl was doted on by all three of her brothers and they became over protective of her.

Years passed and Roxas led a very simple life. The young blond, sixteen, was in his second year of high school. He made C average in all of his classes and didn't do any sports, the complete opposite of his twin. Sora, while making B's in class, was on the soccer and swim team. But there was no rivalry between the two. Roxas was content with doing the minimum and Sora was pleased with doing the best he could.

The youngest twin was lying on his back outside and watching the clouds. It was warm outside for being mid fall; all that was needed was a light sweater to keep the chill at bay. It was Saturday so Roxas didn't have to worry about finishing up his homework till tomorrow. He was just enjoying the slightly warm day.

"Roxas!" A high pitched yell came from near the house. The blond rolled over to see his sister running towards him. When the little girl was a few inches away, she stopped and lay down beside her brother. "Tell me a story, please?"

Not able to resist her big blue eyes, Roxas sighed as he thought of a good story for the girl. "Once upon a time, there was a girl. The girl had a favorite coat that was a deep red. Now she wore this coat everywhere and got the nickname-"

"-Little Red Riding Hood," Naminé finished. "If you're going to tell me a fairy tale then at least make it more interesting than a girl's grandmother getting eaten by a wolf," The blond girl huffed.

Something more interesting...? Roxas lay back down and ran his fingers through his sister's long golden hair as he thought of how to change the story.

"So, one day Little Red had to take a basket of food and medicine to her sick grandmother, who lived on the other side of town. When she left her house, she came to a fork in the rode. She could go to the right, which was the long way and went through the whole town. Or she could go left and cut a good hour out of her trip. But the left went through the woods, and Little Red's mother always told her never to go there."

"Like our forest?" Naminé questioned. She moved so she was using her brother as a makeshift pillow.

"Yes, like our forest. Now are you going to let me tell the story or not?" Roxas took her silence as an answer and continued. "Thinking the faster she got to her grandmother's place the better, Little Red took the short cut. While she was walking on the overgrown path, a big scary-"

"If you say wolf I'm going to leave and bug Cloud for a story."

The older blond groaned. "Fine, it wasn't a wolf. It was a man. He was big and scary. Little Red tried to run away from the man but he was faster than her and caught her. She didn't even stand a chance..." Roxas paused as he thought of what would happen next.

The pause annoyed Naminé. "That's it? That's how you're going to end it? Little Red dies?" Her brother just nodded his head. Naminé started to laugh so hard that she started to cry a bit. "You're a horrible story teller, Roxas!" And in a blink of an eye she ran into the house, most likely to bug a story out of Cloud.

The blond sighed and looked back up at the sky. "How should it end?"

~X~x~X~x~

"You know what we need? Sea-salt ice cream!" Roxas's best friend, Hayner, yelled as soon as the group of friends managed to get out of their school. The other three agreed. "Let's make this interesting; last one there has to pay!" And before anyone could register what the dirty blond had said, he took off.

Olette pulled her hair into a ponytail so it wouldn't get in her way. "I think he forgot his wallet again." Once her hair was secure, she took off after the boy with the other two close behind her.

Roxas quickly passed Olette and was close to Hayner when something caught his eye. Well, it was more like a someone. He was tall with vibrant red hair that stuck up in weird directions. His back was facing the blond. The man must have felt Roxas's eyes because he turned to stare back at him. Once they made eye contact, the man took Roxas's breath away. The stranger had bright green eyes and there was something different about them that Roxas just couldn't put his finger on. Under his eyes, there were dark purple triangles tattooed under both. The sexy grin the exotic looking man wore just completed his look.

The grin parted as the man tried to say something but Roxas didn't catch it since Pence had successfully passed him. And as much as Roxas wanted to stay and stare at the man, he didn't have enough cash on him to pay for four ice creams. So, as quickly as he could, the blond took off after his friends. He quickly passed his chubby friend with a cry of "Hey, no fair!" from the other boy. By the time he got to the parlor, Hayner and Olette were already there.

"Hey man, what happened? I thought you were right behind me," The dirty blond said with a smile.

"He...he stopped to stare at someone like a creeper," Pence panted out. He just got into the shop, was sweating heavily, and was having a hard time catching his breath. "I didn't get a good look at her but by the look on Roxas's face I bet she was pretty."

A blush formed across Roxas's face and he was so embarrassed he felt like he could explode. The only good thing in this whole situation was that his friends thought he was checking out a girl but, in reality, the blond was gay. He was only out to his siblings; well, he only told Cloud and Sora, Naminé figured it out.

Three sets of eyes were on the blond and he had to think of something to say. "She...was really pretty. I've never seen anyone who looked like her before." His mind drifted as he thought about those green eyes and wild red hair.

"I wonder if she's new around here." Olette said as the group made their way from the entrance to the counter so they could get their ice cream.

~X~x~X~x~

It was dinner time and Yuna had made homemade spaghetti with fresh sauce, which was Roxas's favorite. Between Cloud and Sora's bickering, Tidus and Auron talking about work, and Yuna banging pots around as she set the table, the table wasn't close to being quiet.

"So, Roxas," Tidus addressed his youngest son once the food was served, "Have you decided to join any sport yet?" The older blond had been the captain of the blitzball team when he was in school and ever since his boys were little he pushed how important sports were on them. Cloud did wrestling and archery and Sora did his thing, but Roxas never showed the same interest as his brothers.

Roxas took a big bite of his meal to stall for time. "I haven't." His blue eyes moved from his plate to look at his father but quickly darted back when he saw Tidus's disproving look. "I'm sorry I'm not athletic. I just don't see the big deal."

A loud clank from Tidus banging his silverware on his plate echoed throughout the room. "And what's more important? School? You can barely make a passing grade!"

"Tidus, that's enough!" Yuna yelled at her husband. She was getting tired of this. This would happen at least once a week. She knew Tidus was only doing this because he wanted his kids to have the life that he couldn't.

Roxas had had enough of it and dismissed himself to his room, which he shared with his brothers, down in the basement. The blond grabbed his homework out of his bag and started to work on it. The class was working on quadratic functions. And Roxas didn't understand any of it.

Identify the vertex. Y= x² + 18x +64. What the hell is the vertex? Blue eyes crossed as Roxas scanned over the worksheet. They just went over this today in class and he couldn't recall any of it. Math wasn't really his strong point. He was better in English and art class.

After staring at the problem for a few more minutes, Roxas gave up and pulled out his notebook. He flipped to the page that had his Red Riding Hood story and he tapped his pen against the page impatiently. There still wasn't an ending and it was driving the blond crazy. Little Red couldn't die. It was a fairy tale and she was the heroin. Maybe the man can be the hero and not Little Red. Roxas thought. Naminé did say she wanted something different.

 


	2. Talking to Strangers

It was late at night and Cloud, Sora, and Roxas were in their room getting ready for bed. Cloud was taking a shower in the conjoined bathroom and, as soon as he came out of it, Sora jumped up and ran in before the oldest brother was even out of the door.

The older blond looked a bit shocked but since he was used to that treatment from Sora he just shrugged it off and went to sit on the large queen bed that the twins shared. "You seem distracted." Cloud addressed his younger brother. Roxas was busy scribbling in his notebook so he didn't hear his older brother. "Hey Roxas!" Cloud yelled as he snatched the notebook from Roxas. "What's eating you?"

Roxas pouted. "Nothing. I'm just drawing something."

Cloud knew his brother wasn't telling him the whole truth. Roxas wouldn't meet his gaze and his voice was barely audible; signs that the younger blond was keeping something hidden. Blue eyes scanned the notebook that Roxas was drawing in.

Drawn in it was a man with a pointed face in black ink. He had wild hair with a defined widow's peak. Narrow eyes pierced up from the page with inverted triangles underlining them. There was almostsome strange power behind him. Cloud couldn't explain it but theman didn't seem to be a part of their world.

"Who's this?" Cloud looked from the book towards his brother.

A dark blush spread across Roxas's cheeks. "I'm writing a Red Riding Hood story for Naminé. He's supposed to be the wolf." He didn't want Cloud to know that he was also the man that Roxas saw in town a few days before. And since then, every time he left the house, he would always keep an eye open for that wild hair. He didn't know why he felt drawn to the man; he only saw him once and it was only for a few seconds.

"I don't remember a man being in that story." Cloud flipped through the book trying to find any other profiles for the characters but came up empty handed. He sighed in defeat and handed the book back to his brother.

Roxas hugged the notebook to his chest. "She doesn't want the original story so I'm remaking it. The man is a creature who lives in the forest. At the beginning, Little Red thinks he's the bad guy but he's not."

"So then who's the antagonist?" Cloud added in his head.

The youngest blond let out a defeated sigh. "I haven't figured that out yet. And I know Nami will hate this story the way it is."

Cloud chuckled and ruffled his brother's hair. "It's only a bed time story so don't stress too much over it. And I bet Naminé will love it no matter what."

As soon as he said that, the bathroom door banged open. A dripping wet Sora ran into the room and jumped on his shared bed to crawlunder the blankets.

X~x~X~x~

It was another boring day in Mr. Vexen's chemistry class. Roxas was sitting way in the back with Sora and, instead of listening to the teacher's lecture, was working on the fairy tale for his sister. He was dead set on finishing it.

"Roxas Jecht," A cold voice said. Roxas almost jumped out of his seat. His big blue eyes looked up to the front of the room in shock. "Would you please tell the class what a mole is?" Mr. Vexen had a smile on his face that made him look like he was mocking the poor blond.

"Umm..." Roxas tapped his pencil on his notebook while he thought of an answer. "A mole is an animal that lives underground and is blind."

The whole class fell silent at his remark. No one would ever dream of being a smart ass towards Mr. Vexen. The old man, while usually calm, could become fierce when pissed off. There were rumors about what he did to misbehaving students. Like one time, someone back talked him and during a lab experiment their sleeve got caught on the Bunsen burner and was set on fire.

There was no proof that the old science teacher did it but he sure as hell didn't help put the boy out. And ever since then, no one messed with Mr. Vexen.

The scientist's cold green eyes narrowed in on Roxas. "Would you like to repeat that?"

Roxas was about to open his mouth but was stopped when Sora covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head. "Are you fucking crazy!?" He whispered to his twin.

Mr. Vexen seemed happy with that and continued on with his lecture. Roxas went back to his notebook, not really caring what a mole was. When was he going to use this anyway? And he could always go over Sora's notes before a test so there was really no need for him to pay attention.

~X~x~X~x~

At lunch, the twins were sitting at their usual table with Roxas'sfriends. Sora, while exceeding in classes and sports, didn't have much of a social life.

The small group couldn't stop talking about what had happened in the twins' science class. Everyone at the table sat wide-eyed withtheir jaws dropped. "You did what!?" Hayner yelled. "Dude! No one ever talks back to him! What would make you do that?"

"If I were you, I'd play hooky on any of the lab days." Olette offered, which shocked everyone since she was so strict about attending class. If anyone in their little group would ditch or play sick for a day and she found out, they'd have to sit through one of her long winded lectures about the importance of school and how it would affect their future.

"You guys should have seen Mr. Vexen's face!" Sora added a little too happily. "I'm surprised Roxas made it out alive! I mean if looks could kill."

Roxas's dark blue eyes glared at his twin. "Thanks for that Sora. Glad to know that the most evil man at this school wants me me feel so much better." He scooped up some mashed potatoes with his plastic spoon and flung it at the unsuspecting brunet. "If looks could kill then Cloud would have done you in long ago."

A cute pout graced Sora's face as he picked bits of white mush out of his brown spikes. "That was really uncalled for! Ow! Not so hard!" He whined when Pence, who was sitting next to him, started to help Sora take out the mashed potatoes.

"Sorry, just thought I'd be helpful." The tubby boy stopped what he was doing and went back to his lunch.

Roxas decided it was time to change topics. "Have you seen a guy around town lately? His hair's an obnoxious shade of red and he has weird tattoos on his face. I saw him a little less than a week ago and he hasn't been around since."

"That's kind of creepy, Roxas. You sound like a stalker or something." Hayner elbowed his best friend in the ribs. "Why do you care about some strange guy?"

"Maybe Roxas thinks he's attractive or something and wants to ask him out on a date." Sora flashed his twin a wide smile and mouthedthe words 'pay backs a bitch', and pointed at the food that was still stuck in his hair. He ignored the glare the blond gave him and continued eating his lunch like he said nothing.

All three of his friends stared at Roxas.

"You're gay?"

"What's he talking about?"

"Are you gonna finish that?"

They all spoke at the same time. Roxas slid his untouched lunch over to Pence and left the cafeteria with the excuse that he needed to go to the library to finish some forgotten homework.

~X~x~X~x~

Roxas was wondering around town alone afterschool. He was mad at Sora for blowing his secret about his sexuality to his friends and he was too embarrassed to confront the three about it. He sat all alone at a park bench, working on his fairy tale.

The park was deserted even though the sun was still up. Mostparents wouldn't let their kids play here because it was so close to the forest. The young blond didn't understand the superstition that went with the place but all the adults feared the woods. They said things lived in there, like monsters that would snatch you up and spirit you away into a world of terror. Roxas didn't believe a word of it.

His grandfather, Braska, pretty much ran the town and knew everything there was to know about the forest. He used to tell Roxas and his sibling stories about the monsters that would roam in the dark. When he was younger, Roxas believed him but over time he started to realize they were just stories.

"Hey there." A smooth voice brought Roxas out of his thoughts. The blond turned his head and he couldn't believe his eyes. The mysterious redhead from before was standing right there! The strange man waited for Roxas to say something but, when the small blond didn't say a word, he just flashed a grin. "The name's Axel." Roxas couldn't say anything. A sexy as fuck man was talking to him! Axel's grin was replaced with a slight frown. "You okay kid?"

Axel reached towards Roxas and brushed blond bangs away. As soon as they touched, both guys felt a shock. The redhead pulled back and his bright green eyes grew brighter as a huge smile graced his face. Roxas, on the other hand, shrugged it off like it was static electricity. "Are you-?" The redhead's sentence got quieter so Roxas couldn't hear the rest of it.

"So, like I said, the name's Axel. Got it memorized?" And with that the redheaded stranger disappeared into the forest. Roxas felt the urge to follow.


	3. Off to Grandfather's house

The sun was just setting. As soon as Roxas had walked into the house, he was pounced on by Sora.

"I'm sorry! Roxas, quit ignoring me! Please!" Sora was on his knees, begging his twin to forgive him.

Roxas walked down the stairs that led to the basement with his twin hot on his heels. "You know, I covered for you. I told them it was a joke and I was trying to get under your skin." The brunet pouted. "If you keep ignoring me, I'm going to tell them the truth." The blond stiffened at that, which made Sora give a triumphant smile; he had Roxas's attention now. "Say you forgive me."

Roxas sighed in defeat. "I guess I forgive you, for now." He sat on his bed and fixed his twin with a curious look. "What do you think's in the forest? Like a smaller town or maybe a forgotten road?" He lied back on the bed and put his hands behind his head.

Sora mimicked Roxas and lay next to him. "You remember what Granddad said about the monsters, right? Like the scary kind with sharp teeth that will rip flesh off your bones and eat your soul!"

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"You don't?" Sora rolled onto his side and gave his brother a shocked look. Roxas just shook his head. "Why the hell not?"

"Because they're just stories."

"They are not! Remember Old Lady Vanille? She went into the forest and came back pregnant. Now explain that!"

Roxas rolled his dark blue eyes at his twin. "Vanille is an insane old lady. I bet she just went off to another city or something and meet a nice man and did the deed with him then left. And didn't her baby get kidnapped when mom and dad were little kids? Why are there still rumors going around about that kid? Well, I guess kid is the wrong word for it. It'd be at least in its early if not mid-twenties."

"Okay, that may have been a bad example. But what about Granddad's childhood friend, Aerith? She was picking flowers by the forest and just disappeared!" Sora waved his hands in his brother's face.

Roxas was starting to get irritated and pushed the hyper boy away from him. "She obviously got lost and because of all the bullshit superstition no one went looking for her." Then the blond remembered something. "Hey remember that guy I mentioned at lunch?" Roxas told Sora about the sexy redhead that talked to him at the park, though he left out the part about the strange man going into the forest.

"So, did you get a name for Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Mysterious?" Sora asked with a mischievous smirk on his cheery face.

Roxas's face turned blank. Remembering names was one of his weak points. "I think it started with an A, maybe, or E. It defiantly started with a vowel. Or K." Roxas ran his hand through his golden spikes as he tried to remember.

"Seriously bro, get your head checked or something. This forgetting names thing is getting a little ridiculous," Sora said as he got up from the bed and started to head up stairs with Roxas.

Roxas rolled his eyes when they reached the door. "I may be bad with names but you're horrible with faces." He was about to reach for the doorknob but, before he could touch it, Cloud opened the door from the other side.

"Mom sent me down to get you two bozos for dinner but it seems you are on your way already." With that, he turned on his heel and walked towards the kitchen where the smell of backed chicken was coming from.

As the twins were following their older brother, a yell came from the living room. Roxas and Sora exchanged a glance before turning around and running. Inside was Tidus sitting on the edge of the couch with a PS2 controller in his hand. He was glaring at the TV and mumbling curses under his breath. Beside him was Naminé who, oblivious to her father's shouts, busying herself with braiding Auron's ponytail. The older man was sitting on the floor with this back on the couch.

"Umm..Dad?" Sora called to the blond man who just grunted in reply without taking his eyes off of the screen. "What are you doing?"

"Dodging lightning. What does it look like?" The man grumbled as the screen light up and he jabbed at the X button to make his avatar jump out of the way. "How the hell do they expect me to dodge two-hundred fucking bolts?"

Just as he said that, Yuna walked in the room with her hands on her hips. "Watch your language in front of the kids! And dinner's ready so get your butts in the kitchen." Tidus let out a whine and clutched onto the controller like his life depended on it. "Fine. You can stay in here and starve but the kids are coming to eat."

The three kids in the room left while grumbling about how unfair it was to not be able to watch their father get his ass kicked at a simple mini game. So Yuna and all four of her kids sat down for dinner. About five minutes later, Auron joined them, his hair back to his usual style.

"Roxas, you need to go see your grandfather tomorrow after school." Yuna said while cutting up Naminé's chicken into bite sized pieces. "His yard is starting to get overgrown and he wanted you to clean it up. It's going to be the weekend so if you stay late just call and say you're going to be staying the night. I don't want you wondering around outside in the middle of the night." A loud yell came from the living room. Yuna slammed her silverware on the table. "Tidus Jecht! Stop playing that stupid game and come eat!"

A whine came from the room but soon Tidus walked into the kitchen and plopped himself down next to his wife. "I was so close to winning! I had like two more bolts to dodge and then I just lost!" The blond man pouted and started to dish food onto his plate.

"What's so important about that mini game?" Cloud asked around a mouth full of chicken.

"You get the Venus Sigil and you can use that to get the Black Mage's ultimate weapon. And I was this fuc-freaking close!" Tidus censored himself when he remembered that his little girl was in the room.

"Can I try later, Daddy?" Naminé asked with wide blue eyes glued on her dad.

"Only if you finish all of your veggies."

~X~x~X~x~

"How did you do that?" Tidus asked as Naminé opened a treasure chest containing the Venus Sigil. It had taken the little girl less than an hour to do while it took Tidus almost all day with nothing to show for it.

The little girl giggled and moved the avatar so it was standing in between two craters. "It's timed in this area." As soon as she stopped moving, a bolt came at her and she easily dodged. "1..2..3." The screen lit up and Naminé pushed the X button. "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9." Again she dodged it. Tidus's eyes were wide as he watched his daughter. Naminé giggled at her old man.

"This proves it; Dad should never play video games. Those are just for nerds," Cloud mumbled as he left the room towards the basement with the twins in tow.

"Then what about Nami? I don't think she's a nerd," Sora said with a tilt of his head as he dug around in his dresser for some pajamas. Once he found a pair, he grabbed the towel he used the other day off his desk and ran into the bathroom before anyone else could get in first.

Cloud sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Why does he ask questions if he just leaves right after?" His bright blue eyes landed on his younger brother's darker ones. "Well? You're his twin; you should know."

Roxas just shrugged, sat at the small desk and pulled out his homework. If he was going to be working all day for the next two days, he didn't want to spend all of Sunday trapped in his room doing the school work.

"Hey Roxas, did you ever solve that antagonist problem you were having with your story?" Cloud asked as he walked over to the smaller blond so he could look over his shoulder. He smirked when he saw that Roxas was using the wrong formula for his math problems.

"I did. And before you ask, it's a surprise ending so you'll just have to wait." Roxas smiled up at his older brother before turning back to his homework and scratching his head in confusion. "So did I do this one right?"

Cloud just chuckled and grabbed the other boy's pencil so he could show Roxas how to properly do his math homework.

~X~x~X~x~

The final school bell rang. Roxas gathered his things; he needed to get to Braska's house as soon as possible.

"Hey! Roxas!"

Or not...

Hayner sprinted up to his best friend with a big grin on his face. "Me and the gang are going for ice cream. Come on!" The dirty blond threw his arm around Roxas's shoulders and started to pull him in the direction of their small group.

"I really can't today. I need to go to my grandfather's place and help him with some things." Roxas tried to twist his way out of Hayner's grasp but the other boy just tightened his grip. "I really shouldn't be late or else he might get worried and call mom, and you know how she tends to overreact." Hayner ignored his best friend's pleas and continued to drag him towards their groups usual spot.

~X~x~X~x~

"Stupid fucking Hayner!" Roxas yelled as he bolted down the streets of the small town that was slowly closing down. He had lost track of time while hanging out with his friends and now night was quickly approaching. Roxas blamed it all on his stupid best friend. When they finished their ice cream, Hayner challenged Roxas to a struggle match. And since the two were equally matched, the fight took a bit longer than it should have.

As the blond ran though the town, he couldn't help but worry about how much his mom was going to flip out if he was late. Then he came to a fork in the road. One path went through the town but Roxas wouldn't get to Braska's home until after the sun set. The other way would take Roxas through the woods and help him save time. Either way, he would have to stay the night and start working early in the morning.

Not wanting to upset his mother, Roxas decided to take the shortcut. It was darker in the forest than Roxas thought it would be. It seemed like whatever little sunlight was left was blocked by the thick trees.

Something rustled behind a bush not far from the blond making him jump; his heart raced as he remembered every story Braska and Auron had told him as a child. His fight or flight instincts kicked in and Roxas turned to run when his eyes caught a bright shade of red.

"I knew I'd find you here." A cool and familiar voice said. Roxas's dark blue eyes widened as he saw the redheaded stranger came out from behind the thick trees. Roxas just stared at him with a blank, and slightly frightened, look. "Hey, it's me. You know, Axel." His bright green eyes were fixed on Roxas as he tried to help jog the blond's memory from yesterday.

"Axel..." Roxas slowly said. He liked the way it sounded; it fit the taller man.

Axel smiled at the sound of how Roxas said his name. "You know, I knew you'd be here. I could smell you from a mile away." Roxas cocked his head to the side. How the hell could Axel smell that far? But Roxas quickly decided that the tall redhead was joking. "And before you doubt my amazing sense of smell, I can smell you. Where ever you are as a matter of fact!" Axel leaned closer. "And I can give you the same talent, and many more. But you need to come with me. Run away from this mundane life."

"You want me to run away with you? And that I can get a better nose? That doesn't make any fucking sense, you know that right?" Roxas placed his hands on his hips and looked Axel over. Besides his hair, the man didn't seem crazy "Where are you from? Why are you in here?"

"One question at a time, Roxas." Axel took a few more steps closer until he was close enough to wrap his arms around the blond and pull their bodies closer. "If you chose to come with me, I'll be willing to tell you anything and everything you'd want to know."

"My name." Roxas slid out of Axel's hold on him and took a few steps back. "I never told you it. How did you know?" The small blond was starting to get freaked out. A part of him was regretting taking the shortcut but the other half wasn't worried. In fact, he felt safe with Axel. He was tempted to take him up on his offer

For every step back Roxas took, Axel would take a step forward. This kept going on until Roxas's back hit a tree. There was hardly any space between the two now and Axel placed his hands on both sides of Roxas's head, trapping the blond.

"I'll give you that information for free. You live in a small town, Roxas. I could get your name by asking anyone on the street. And since the day I caught you staring at me, I've wanted to know who you were. And when we touched yesterday, I wanted nothing more than to be with you." The forest around them grew darker as night came closer. Roxas swore that Axel's eyes grew brighter the longer they were in the dark.

Axel looked up at the rising moon and swore to himself. "Look kid, we don't have a lot of time for this. Do you want to come with me or not?" Roxas didn't know what to do. He couldn't believe that this very attractive man wanted him but Axel also wanted him to leave his whole life behind. Could he do it? The long silence seemed to irritate the redhead and he leaned down so his face was closer to Roxas. "Maybe this will help you decide." And without hesitation, Axel captured Roxas's lips with his.

This wasn't helping Roxas with his decision. In fact, all the blond could think about was how good the other man's lips felt on his. Roxas wrapped his arms around Axel's neck and loved the feeling of how warm the man's body was.

When Axel finally pulled away, he looked Roxas in the eyes. "So, will you run away with me?"

Would he really be missed? He had a strained relationship with his father and Cloud and Sora were too busy with sports. Only his mother and Naminé might care. Could he really do this? Could he just drop his life and leave with Axel, a man he just met?

"Yes."


	4. Strange New World

Axel's green eyes widened in surprise but he replaced it with his normal cool look. "You sure about that, love?" And the redhead leaned down and kissed Roxas on the lips. He traced the blond's cheek and down his neck till he reached where Roxas's neck met his shoulder. A wolfish grin spread across his face as he nuzzled the pale flesh. He could feel the smaller boy's fast pulse.

"Y-yes…" Roxas squeaked out. He was having a hard time keeping his thoughts straight. He had already decided that there was nothing left for him in his small town; he had already told the redhead hat he would go with him but that didn't mean that he wasn't terrified about leaving his old life behind.

"Good."

It all happened so fast. A sharp pain shot up and down his spine. Axel bit me! The blond pulled away from the taller man and smacked the back of his head on the tree that was behind him. Black spots danced around Roxas's vision as blood dripped down his neck. A sickening feeling made its way throughout his body.

Scared blue eyes looked up at bright green. Roxas could feel his body going numb. He slid to the ground and curled into himself. The pain was so intense that he couldn't breathe.

"A-axel? What's go-going on?" Roxas gasped out. It was starting to feel like his bones were shifting.

Roxas flinched when he felt a warm hand rub his back. "Shhh...Calm down. It's gonna be over soon. Just breathe." Axel cooed into the smaller boy's ear.

"What's almost ov-" Roxas cut off with a howl of pain. Roxas blacked out.

When he was able to get his bearings back, he noticed that the dark forest seemed to be clearer. It still looked dark out but Roxas see the outlines of the trees better than before.

"Don't bite me, okay?" Axel laughed as he helped Roxas sit up straight. His hands went straight for the hem of the blond's shirt and, in a fluid motion, removed it. He moved onto Roxas's pants. Those came off easily along with his boxers.

Roxas gave out a weak squeak of protest and tried to cover himself up. "What..what are you doing!?" A sharp pain went through him and he let out a loud scream.

"Shh...Don't do that. Here." Axel helped move Roxas so he was on his hands and knees. "This should make it easier."

Roxas forgot he was naked and vulnerable when he felt like something start to grow out of all the pores on his body.

It felt like it lasted hours but, once the pain had subsided, Roxas was able to fully take in what just happened. He looked at once had been his hands. They had transformed into paws that were covered in blond fur. Something in the same colored fur caught Roxas's eye behind him; there was a tail and it was connected to him.

"What? I'm dreaming! I'm dreaming!" Roxas yelled as he shook his head. This couldn't be real. Axel must have drugged him. He must be hallucinating. Or maybe he got attacked by something in the forest and he was lying in a hospital bed; this was a dream brought on from morphine. It had to be.

Large hands grabbed the sides of his face and Roxas was forced to look at Axel. "Look, you're not dreaming and I need you to be quiet before the Heartless hears you." The redhead's voice was calm and even. The small boy, now wolf, whimpered. His parents told him stories about the creatures. That they would attack children and steal away their hearts, leaving empty shells that would lure in more children. Over the years, Roxas stopped believing those stories but if this wasn't a dream then the stories were true; the thought made Roxas shiver. It didn't go unnoticed by Axel. "Don't worry, I'll protect you. In fact-" Axel cut himself off as he stripped down.

"Wha-" Roxas covered his face with his paw. "What are you doing!?"

Axel didn't answer. Roxas was starting to get a bit worried but, before he could check, something cold and wet touched the side of his face. The blond wolf flinched away from touch and removed his paw from his eyes. Beside Roxas was a large red wolf with bright green eyes.

"Axel?"

The bigger wolf nodded and lay down next to Roxas. "We can't go anywhere till morning and I can protect you better in this form." Axel gently grabbed Roxas by his scruff and pulled him down. "Rest for now. I'll tell you everything on the way home in the morning."

Home? Will I ever be able to go back? Roxas thought as he tried to fall asleep.

~X~x~X~x~

Axel didn't sleep. He needed to keep watch. He would have to explain all of this to Roxas in the morning. He almost felt sorry for the young boy but he knew he wouldn't be able to go home without Roxas.

The sun rose quickly and Axel knew he should wake the other up soon. The red wolf started to lick all over Roxas's face till the boy finally woke up. "Mom? What time is it? I had the weirdest dream last night. I changed into a wolf and-" Roxas's words were cut when he finally opened his eyes and saw that it in fact wasn't a dream.

"Sorry, you weren't dreaming." Axel licked the blond one more time before he got up. "Come on now, we need to get home soon or else."

Roxas didn't move as he watched Axel walk away from the town. Then he thought of something. Axel had a human form as well as a wolf one. Did that mean that he could as well? "Wait!" The blond called after the redhead. "Can I change back into my real self?" Axel inclined his head in a silent 'yes'. Roxas carefully stood up since he didn't feel balanced with for legs. After standing for a moment, Roxas shyly turned to Axel. "Umm...how do I do it?"

Axel gave a little sigh before answering. "You just have to remember what being human feels like."

Roxas nodded and closed his eyes to help him concentrate. He tried to remember what it felt like to walk on two feet. What it felt like to have the wind hit his face and go through his hair. What it felt like to talk instead of howl and bark. He felt his bones shifting back into their original places and his fur retract into his skin. It wasn't as painful as the first transformation but still uncomfortable.

Once Roxas was back to being human, he hurried up and put his clothes back on because Axel's emerald eyes wouldn't stop looking at him. When he was fully cloth, the blond turned back the wolf. "So, shall we go?" The boy started to walk back towards town. He walked a few steps before he felt something pull on the back of his shirt.

"Not that way. We're going home." Axel growled around the fabric in his mouth.

"This way's home though." Roxas said as he pulled his shirt out of Axel's jaws.

Axel gave a warning growl and bared his fangs. "That's not your home anymore. You promised to come with me, remember? You said you would come with me."

"Yeah, but town's still this way." Roxas mumbled and pointed towards said town. "I'll go with you, but we still need to go so I can get my stuff."

The wolf shook his head. "You can't. We're not welcomed there." Roxas gave Axel a confused look that asked 'why'. "Mystics aren't allowed in the Outerlands. And you, my cutie, just happen to be one now." Axel smiled at the blond before turning and walking deeper into the woods. "This way."

~X~x~X~x~

It felt like they had been walking all day and Roxas was getting tired. He was starting to regret agreeing going with Axel. The redhead didn't tell him this would happen. Roxas only wanted to go because he thought he would be able to go home if things didn't work out. The blond whimpered to himself at the thought of never seeing his family again.

Axel heard the boy and nudged his leg with his head. "Everything's going to be okay, Roxas."

"So is there anything else you 'forgot' to tell me?" Roxas made quotation marks around the word forgot. He glared down at Axel, who was still in wolf form.

"You are a Lycanthrope now." Axel said simply. "In basic terms, you're technically a wolf but have a human form." Roxas mumbled 'no shit' and rolled his eyes, still annoyed at Axel ignored the comment and continued. "Mystics are the creatures who live in this forest, and you are now one of them."

"Is there any way I can become fully human again?" Roxas quietly asked. He bit his thumbnail out of nervous habit. He was really starting to regret this.

Axel didn't like Roxas's thinking and growled at the boy again. "You promised yourself to me. Even if there was a way for you to change back, you still wouldn't be allowed to leave." The wolf turned away from Roxas and continued towards his home with the boy following behind him.

The rest of the day was spent in silence. They never stopped to rest during the trek. In a few short hours, Axel stopped on the outskirts of a clearing that had a den on the far end. The wolf tilted his head back and let out a long howl that made Roxas jump.

A high pitched giggle came from inside the den. A little girl came running out and, in the blink of an eye, had her tiny arms wrapped around the wolf's neck. "Big Brother, you're finally home! Riku was being mean to me again! He called me a mutt." The girl pouted

Roxas widened his eyes at the sight of the girl. She looked so much like Naminé! This girl's hair was a dark shade of red and it only reached to her shoulders, unlike Naminé's whose went down mid-back. But everything from the shade and shape of her eyes to her build was just like Roxas's little sister's.

"It's because you are!" Another voice said. Roxas managed to take his eyes away from his sister's doppelganger and saw a boy around his age with long silver hair that fell into his aquamarine eyes. Roxas thought he was almost as handsome as Axel.

Speaking of Axel, the wolf glared at the silveret. "Riku, stop calling her a mutt or I'll won't let you come visit anymore." The wolf growled.

Riku just shrugged and walked towards them. His aqua eyes roamed the intruder till they landed on dark blue. "And who might you be?" He glanced over at the wolf and back at Roxas

"I'm Roxas Jecht." The blond said and stuck his hand out.

The silveret accepted the hand and grinned at the other boy. "Riku."

While the two exchanged pleasantries, neither of them noticed the two redheads sneak off towards the den. The little girl had a hard time containing her giggles as she followed Axel inside the darkness. Way in the back behind a large boulder, there was a trap door that was open.

The two walked down a flight of rough stone stairs in silence. There were no lights underground but the two didn't seem to need it as they navigated passed a couple of doors and turns till they ended up at Axel's bedroom.

The redhead shifted back to his human from before he started to shift through his dresser for clothes. Finally the little girl couldn't hold it in anymore and loudly asked. "Why is there a stranger here?" Her large sky blue eyes held an uncomfortable look.

Axel chuckled at his baby sister as he knelt in front of her and pulled her into a hug. "It's a surprise, but trust me, you'll love it."

The little girl nodded her head and grabbed Axel's hand to lead him back outside.

When they emerged, the first thing Axel noticed was that Riku was nowhere to be seen but a large black wolf with a white stripe going down the length of its back and one of his eyes was missing was circling Roxas. The poor blond looked petrified as the beast eyed him; he didn't even notice the siblings return.

Axel growled low in his throat and went into a fighting stance while pushing Kairi behind him. "Xigbar."

The wolf's ear twitched at the sound of his name and slowly turned his head. "What did you do, Axel?" Xigbar barked. His ears were back and the fur on his back was sticking up. "Does he even know what you did to him?"

"Axel..."

The redhead's attention was pulled away from Xigbar and landed on the scared blond. "Stay away from my mate!" Axel shouted, not thinking.

Everyone froze at that. Roxas's eyes doubled in size, Kairi's hands flew up to her mouth to hide the giant grin, and Axel felt his face heat up; he didn't mean to break the news like that. Xigbar wasn't the least bit pleased and attacked the redhead.

All the air in Axel's lungs was pushed out with a grunt when he landed on his back with the big wolf on top of him. "I get sent out to find Riku because he just up and disappeared one day only to find you ruining some poor kid's life!"

Kairi didn't like that her big brother was in harm, jumped on the black wolf's back and started to pull on his scruff. "Get off Big Brother!" She grabbed fistfuls of black and white fur and pulled as hard as she could.

Xigbar howled in pain and moved off of Axel so the little girl would let go of him. With one last look at Roxas, Xigbar took off into the woods.

Roxas was still frozen in place trying to piece together what just happened in the span of 3 minutes. He was Axel's mate? The blond didn't know what that meant and, by the way Xigbar acted, he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.


	5. Learning About the Birds and the Bees

Roxas sat on the ground with his back against a tree. Xigbar had left a few moments ago and the small blond was trying to process what Axel had said to the other Lycanthrope.

"Stay away from my mate!"

Dark blue eyes looked over at his 'mate' as the taller man was reprimanding Kairi for attacking Xigbar. Apparently the redhead didn't think it was a good idea. The smaller redhead tried to argue her point but Axel wouldn't have any of that. The scene made Roxas question where they're parents were; Kairi seemed to be around Naminé's age, and Axel looked maybe a few years older then Roxas so the blond knew that he couldn't be the father.

Then Roxas started to think about his own family. He wanted to know if they noticed he was gone yet. It had only been a day and it was the weekend so they all probably thought he was at a friend's house or ended up staying the night at his grandfather's.

"Hey, Axel?" Roxas said to get the other's attention. Axel stopped what he was doing and turned towards the blond to give him all of his attention, "What exactly is a mate? Is it like being married?" Roxas looked away from Axel when he felt his face heat up in embarrassment.

A light blush also appeared on Axel's face and he rubbed the back of his head as he thought of what to tell the blond, "Well...ummm...kinda? But, there's something different," The redhead kept stumbling over his words.

"You and Big Brother can make me adorable nieces and nephews!" Kairi yelled as she jumped in Roxas's lap. Her big blue eyes sparkled as she gushed over Roxas, "They'll have your eyes and Big Brother's hair! They'll look just like Daddy! Oh, and they have to listen to me whenever we play because I'm older," The girl gave a firm nod of her head as she decided the fates of Roxas and Axel's unborn children.

Roxas gave the girl in his lap a confused look before he turned his gaze towards Axel, "She does know about human anatomy right?" The redhead gave a slight nod, "And she knows about the birds and the bees?" Another nod, "So, you can bare kids?" A shake, "ME!?" Nod,

In a blink of an eye Roxas had gently moved Kairi off of him, stood up, and made his way away from the clearing and close to the trees. Axel was just as quick and caught up to him and grabbed Roxas by his forearm, "Where are you going?" He didn't get an answer, instead the small blond struggled to get out of the other's grip,"Roxas!"

"I didn't know," Roxas quietly whispered so quietly that Axel could barely hear him, "I thought 'Hey he's good looking and wants me. Maybe going on a small adventure for a bit would make my mundane life a bit more excitable. And when I was done with you, I'd be able to go back home'. But noooo," Roxas turned around to face Axel with tears in the corners of his eyes, "You had to keep secrets and ruin my whole fucking life! I don't even feel human anymore!"

Axel was stating to feel bad for the small blond and tried to pull Roxas in a hug only to be pushed away. Green eyes gave blue a sadden, sympathetic look, "Calm down Roxas, everything is going to be all right. You leaving won't stop you from going into Heat and it defiantly won't stop other Lycanthropes from coming and forcefully taking you," Axel's expression and tone never changed as he talk; trying to sooth the boy, "I'll protect you if you stay here,"

That didn't seem to be the right thing to say.

Roxas violently shoved Axel so they were a good two feet away from each other, "Heat? What the hell!?"

"Listen Roxas, calm down and I can explain,"

"Calm down!? Fuck you, Axel!" And with that Roxas turned away and continued his way into the forest.

Kairi was frozen in the same place Roxas had placed her in as she watched the blond and her brother fight. Her big blue eyes seemed to get bigger as Roxas started to leave again. She started to panic when Axel didn't do anything to stop him. Why was he leaving? Kairi didn't want him to leave. He was suppose to give her a family again. A quiet whimper came from her as she said, "Please don't go,"

That got Roxas's attention. He quickly glanced back at the small girl and felt his heart drop. Kairi was practically in tears and Roxas couldn't help but think of Naminé, and he hated it when his sister was upset.

Axel darted away from Roxas and towards his sister as large tears started to fall down her cheeks. He wiped them away and pulled the sniffling girl in his arms. Kairi's arms wrapped around the redhead's neck as she continued to cry, "Shhh...it's okay, Kairi?" The older redhead started to rock the younger in a vain hope that it would calm her but it didn't seem to work.

Roxas felt like he was frozen in place. He wanted to go comfort Naminé's doppelganger but he felt like he would be intruding on the small family moment. The blond didn't move till he heard Kairi started to softly whimper out his name. He knew the reason the girl was crying was his fault but the fact that she was saying his name made it all the more real. He tried to continue on his way but when he looked back he made eye contact with Kairi, who was looking over Axel's shoulder.

"Rox-roxas, please don't...don't-" Kairi cut herself off as another sob come from her. She buried her face in her brother's neck and kept wailing. Roxas couldn't help himself as he walked towards the tow and knelt behind Axel and petted the girl's head. Kairi's face shot out of Axel's neck and squeaked in surprise when she saw Roxas. The small girl practically climbed over Axel to get to the smaller man. She didn't stop squirming until she was in Roxas lap and had him locked in her arms, "Roxas. Roxas. Roxas,"

Axel and Roxas locked eyes and held the other's gaze till Kairi calmed down and started to snuggle into the blond's chest. Blue left green as Roxas gazed down at the small girl; he came to the conclusion that as long as his sister's lookalike he would try his best to cope since he didn't want to see the girl cry again.

"I'm sorry, Kairi. I'm really sorry," Roxas whispered into her brown-red hair.

~X~x~X~x~

The sun was slowly making its decent down the sky and the trio were currently discussing what they were going to do with Roxas. Said blond was currently holding Kairi while Axel paced in front of them. The current issue was Roxas's Heat.

"I don't want kids,"

Axel stopped his pacing and gave his mate a confused look, "Why not?

"When I came to terms that I was gay I also accepted the fact that I wouldn't have kids. And now you're telling me that I can?"

Kairi looked up at the blond with curious eyes, "Why wouldn't you be able to have kids?" She moved around in Roxas's lap until she was facing him, "Are you broken?" She placed her hands on Roxas's stomach and started to feel around with a concatenated look on her face. A ruble came from the blond's stomach making his face flush. So much had happened that day that he forgot to eat. Kairi giggled and looked over her shoulder towards Axel, "I think he's hungry,"

Axel smiled down at the two and nodded his head in agreement, "It has been a long day," He said as he started to take his shirt off, getting ready to shift, "I'll be back soon. Kairi why don't you show him around?' And with that the redhead made his way out of the clearing.

The girl's attention seemed to move from babies to playing host. She quickly jumped to her feet and dragged Roxas by his wrist, "That's the den," She pointed towards the mouth of the cave. She quickly dragged the blond towards it. Deep within the cave there was a huge boulder that looked like it could crush both Roxas and Kairi if it were to fall over. Behind it was a trap door that looked like it weighted a ton but Kairi easily opened it.

It was pitch black, but Roxas could make out the stair. Not long after the door was opened Kairi started to drag Roxas down into the darkness. The blond noticed that the farther they went into the darkness the more his eyes adjusted to it and he could see almost all the details surrounding him. He could easily count the twelve steps down and how narrow the hall was, even the fact that the ceiling had to only be a couple of inches higher then Axel. Was it getting hard to breath?

"This is my room," Kairi almost yelled as she pushed open the first door they came to. It looked like a cliched kid's room. There were toys all over the floor, the twin sized bed was unmade, the dresser looked like the clothes were carelessly thrown into it, and everything seemed to be some shade of pink. Were the walls closing in?

Kairi grabbed Roxas again and pulled him out of her room and farther down the hallway and around a corner and opened the next door. This room was a bit larger then Kairi's room and the bed was a queen sized bed with silver silk sheets on it; Roxas bet that if there was any lighting the sheets would look like water and everything was put neatly into place, "This is Big Brother's room, and I guess it's your room now too," Roxas didn't get to go in and look around because Kairi was pulling him back into the hall and opened the door across from Axel's room. If a cave in the middle of nowhere collapsed would the screams be heard?

There was nothing in there. It looked like the room was built then forgotten, "Big Brother told me this was going to be the pup's room. He didn't want to start setting it up till he got a mate," Kairi's big blue eyes looked up at Roxas, "And you're here now,"

It suddenly hit Roxas. He was standing at the bottom of a cave that could collapse on them at any given moment and no one would probably ever find them. Roxas started having a hard time catching his breath and his vision was getting blurry, "I need to get out of here," He yanked his hand out of Kairi's grasp and quickly made his way back towards the entrance.

Once he was finally at the mouth of the den he collapsed on his knees gasping for air with tears running down his face. Everything was changing and Roxas didn't feel like he could handle it. His growling stomach went unnoticed by him as he curled into himself and tried to will himself away and back home; wising this was all just a dream and he was really in his and Sora's shared bed.

Small arms wrapped around Roxas' waist and a warm pressure was on his back telling him that Kairi was hugging him. They stayed like that until Axel came back.

The redhead at first didn't see them. He was carrying two small dead rabbits in his jaws and carefully set them down under a tree. Once the food was out of his mouth, Axel went back to the edge of the clearing where he left his clothes and shifted back to his human form, "Roxas! Kairi! Dinner!" He yelled. The only response he got was a quiet sob coming from the den, "Roxas? Kairi?"

"Big Brother," Kairi picked her head off of Roxas' back and looked up at Axel, "I don't know what happened. I was showing him around and he freaked out," The girl scooted away from the blond so her brother could get closer.

Axel carefully sat next to Roxas and pulled the smaller boy in his lap. Roxas instantly clung to the redhead and buried his head in Axel's chest, "I can't do this. I want to go home," Axel couldn't do anything but rub the boy's back and whisper calming words in his ear.


	6. Axel Shouldn't Tell Bedtime Stories

It took Axel a long time to calm Roxas down. When the redhead first saw his mate crying, he didn't know what to do. He thought Roxas he had understood that he couldn't go home.

So he did the first thing that came to mind. He pulled the younger boy into his lap and sent Kairi to finish preparing their dinner. Once the two were alone, Axel pried Roxas away from his chest to look into his blue eyes.

"Listen, Roxas, you need to stop breaking down like this." Axel's heart clenched at how harsh he sounded but he needed to get through to Roxas somehow. "I'm sorry that you feel this way, I really am, but you have to try and cope. The more you dwell on everything, the harder it's going to be to accept it, you know?"

Roxas pushed himself away with a seething look pointed at the redhead. "Who the fuck do you think you are? First you kidnap me, then you force me to live underground, which by the way I can't stand small spaces, and now you're telling me what to do!?" Can't a guy get a little sympathy?

But before he could continue his rant, Kairi came back. Roxas noticed the blood that stained her hands. "Dinner's done, Big Brother!" She flashed both boys a huge smile. "Let's eat!" She grabbed Axel's and Roxas's hand, pulling them toward the edge of the clearing where the rabbits waited for them.

Roxas's stomach bubbled with bile. Two medium sized, skinned rabbits where sitting under a tree. The two redheads walked up to the dead animals, and to Roxas's dismay, started to eat them raw. Axel saw his mate's distress, put his food down, grabbed the blond by his wrist and pulled him to sit beside him.

"This may look gross to you but trust me, you'll like it." With that said, Axel pulled a piece of meat off of the rabbit and handed it to Roxas. He then grabbed another piece for himself and placed it in his mouth. When he was done, he looked at Roxas and made a 'go ahead' gesture with his hands.

Roxas gave a skeptical look towards the redhead but nonetheless mimicked Axel. He was surprised when he found that he liked it. Axel laughed at the small blond and pulled more meat off the animal, which was snatched up by said blond. Soon both rabbits were gone and the three sat under the canopy of trees, all too tired and full to do much.

"Your senses will become stronger than before." Axel broke the silence, having the sudden need to explain the other changes happening to the young boy. "You'll be able to see in the dark, hear things far away, and smell even stale scents. As for going into Heat, it happens when your body feels like it's ready for pups. I can't really tell you much more then that since I've never gone through it," Axel finished with a small awkward laugh.

Roxas looked up at his mate and then looked down at his own body. Was he really going through so many changes? How could one little bite mess him up so bad? Would be able to do the same to other people? As all these questions rushed through his mind, one slipped past his lips.

"Am I still human?"

The small question seemed to catch both of the siblings off guard. They looked at each other before turning their attention back to the blond. Kairi scooted closer to Roxas and wrapped her tiny arms around the boy. "It doesn't matter. You're you, and we love you." She let go of Roxas and looked over her shoulder towards her brother who just smiled at the two of them. He was grateful that most of his mother's personality shone through his little sister.

It was getting late and the sun started to go down. Axel cleared his throat. "We need to go inside now or the Heartless will come." He stood up and started walking back to the den with Kairi close behind. But Roxas stayed under the tree. He didn't want to go underground. Images of the cave walls collapsing kept playing in his head.

Axel noticed his mate's absence when he made it to the mouth of the den. "Come on, Roxas, we need to hurry." Roxas just huffed and turned his head away from the older man. Axel told Kairi to go to her room and made his way back towards Roxas. "You know, if you let the Heartless get you, you'll never see your family again. Not to mention it would break both mine and Kairi's hearts."

"See my family again?"

The taller nodded. "If you behave and stop throwing tantrums then yes, I'll let you go home tomorrow. But you can't let them see you; it'll make leaving harder and we'll end up at square one."

Roxas shook off the fact that Axel was using a voice similar to when he would talk to Naminé himself. "How long can I stay?"

Axel stuck his hand out for the still sitting blond to take. Once Roxas was on his feet, Axel wrapped his arm around the smaller boy's shoulders and guided him towards the den. "For the day? We can't really stay out when it's dark."

"We?" Roxas asked. He wasn't sure if he wanted the redhead to go with him.

The two had made their way into the den and Axel had to release his hold on Roxas so they could walk down the stairs. "Yes, we. What if something happens to you? Or you run away?"

"I'm not some little kid, Axel! I can take care of myself!" Why would Axel think he'd run away? True, he had voiced how much he hated being there, but he didn't really have anywhere else to live. Roxas didn't even notice when the trap door shut but, when he turned around to yell at his mate, he noticed that Axel's acid green eyes glowed in the dark space.

Axel grabbed Roxas's hand and led him towards their room; the redhead had to hide his surprise when the other didn't pull out of the hold. Once they were in the room, Axel walked over to the dresser and dug through it. "Here, try these on." The redhead tossed a pair of loose fitting pants behind him without looking.

Roxas pushed his own pants off his hips and pulled the new pair on. They were too baggy even with the draw string tied. Damn Axel's hips, was the only thing Roxas could think of as his blue eyes traveled to the redhead. He couldn't help the blush that spread through his face; there was no denying that Axel was hot. Roxas shook his head to get rid of the thoughts.

"Big Brother?" A quiet voice said from the doorway, getting Axel's attention. "Bed time story?"

"In a minute, Kai. Let me get Roxas set up first." Axel flashed a smile before turning back to the dresser, looking for a shirt for the blond.

"I want Roxas to tell me a story with you. Please?" She sent the blond a pout. "Pretty please?"

Roxas walked passed Axel towards the little girl's room with Axel following close behind. Kairi giggled and crawled under her blanket. Roxas and Axel sat on opposite sides of the bed.

"Let's see," Roxas started. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Kairi. She was the most beautiful girl in the whole kingdom." That put a huge smile on the girl's face. "Everyone loved her except for an evil witch."

"On the Princess's sixteenth birthday, the evil witch placed a curse on the girl. Kairi fell into a deep sleep and nothing could wake her up except for a kiss," Axel continued. "She stayed in the deep sleep for many years until one day a handsome prince braved the castle that Princess Kairi was kept in."

The small blond picked up the story with. "From dragons to zombies, he fought anything the evil witch put in his path. He wanted to find the princess and free her from the curse. When he finally found her, he walked up to her sleeping form and gave her the curse breaking kiss."

"But it didn't work. The kiss needed to be the princess's first kiss which she had lost years before to some jerk prince. And that, Kairi, is why you have to be very careful around other boys." Axel grinned. "Goodnight. Sweet dreams," The redhead said as he got off the bed and started to walk back to his room, leaving a bewildered Roxas behind.

After saying a quick goodnight, Roxas followed Axel back to their room. He closed the door behind him and glared at the redhead. "What the fuck was that?"

"What was what?" Axel faked innocence.

Roxas marched up to the taller man. "That's not how you tell bedtime stories." He growled. "It's supposed to have a happy ending not some bull shit like that."

The redhead shrugged at his mate. "I always tell them like that."

Roxas didn't know how to respond to that. It really wasn't his place to tell Axel how he should and shouldn't raise his baby sister even though he didn't agree. "Whatever. So how are we sleeping? Like one on the bed and the other on the floor? Or are you going to crash with Kairi?"

Axel gave Roxas a confused look. "The bed's big enough for both of us. I was thinking, what you need is a good old cuddle session." The redhead walked up to Roxas, picked him up bridle style and brought him over to the bed.

"Wh-what are you doing!? Put me down now!" Roxas yelled as he tried to squirm out of Axel's arms

"Whatever you say, Love," Axel chirped as he threw Roxas onto the bed and jumped on top of him. The blond fought to get out from under the larger man. "Calm down Roxas. I won't bite." Axel couldn't help but laugh.

"Get off of me asshole! You're not funny!" Roxas growled back. It had been a long exhausting day and he wanted nothing more than to sleep.

Axel rolled off of his mate and sent him a warning glare. "Be careful what you say or I won't take you to see your family tomorrow."

Roxas sat up and looked down at the other man with a hateful glare. "You wouldn't."

The redhead tilted his head to the side in thought. "How about if you give me a nice loving kiss?" He puckered his lips, making kissing noises that made Roxas cringe.

"Alright already. Quit doing that! It's disgusting," Roxas grumbled as he leaned down and placed his lips on Axel's. It was only meant to last a second but a large hand tangled itself in his golden strands. A tongue slipped into his mouth to explore the depths.

Roxas almost let himself get carried away as he felt his body heat up, but he fought for control and pushed himself away from Axel, rolling over so his back was facing the other man. "Goodnight, Asshole," He mumbled.

Axel leaned over and pecked Roxas's cheek. "Goodnight, Love."


	7. Breaking and Entering

"So, where are we going?" Roxas asked Axel as the redhead helped Kairi onto his shoulders. Axel had woken Roxas as the sun was coming up, saying he would take him to the Outerlands today. Roxas woke up Kairi while Axel went to hunt for breakfast. Surprisingly, when the younger man had to eat a raw deer, he again didn't find himself gagging at the taste.

"We have to make a quick pit-stop before we leave the forest."

After being quiet for an hour or so, Roxas couldn't handle it anymore. "Really, where are we going? I don't recognize anything."

"We're going to go see Aunty Fran!" Kairi yelled in excitement from her perch atop her brother.

Roxas could only imagine who Aunty Fran was. Probably another Lycanthrope. Just the thought of that made a shiver go down the blond's spine. He didn't like knowing such creatures roamed so close to home, which was pretty funny seeing as he was one of them now.

The trio walked in silence for a good hour or so until they came to a small clearing that was surrounded in aster flowers of different colors. It was a beautiful sight and the fragrance it gave off had to be one of the sweetest things Roxas had ever smelt.

And, of course, Axel had to ruin the blond's moment with a loud as hell howl. Roxas had to cover his ears from the offensive noise but, as the sound faded away, Roxas was in awe at the fact that he knew what that howl meant.

We're here so come and greet us!

There was a jingle and something flew above them. It was about the size of a large fist with a long yellow looking straw hat for a head. In the middle of its green chest was a heart emblem.

"H-heartless!" Roxas squeaked in fear at the creature floating above him. He ducked behind Axel in a small hope that his mate would protect him from the monster. Instead he just got laughed at by both redheads. "What the hell is so funny!? That thing is going to kill us!" He yelled at the two.

"Who's going to kill you now?" A strange voice said. The green Heartless made a chirping noise before it flew over to the stranger. Roxas peered around his mate to see who was talking to him and saw a tall woman with tan skin, long sliver hair, and… bunny ears?

Before Roxas could question the rather large appendages, Kairi jumped off of her brother's shoulders and ran towards the woman. "Aunty Fran!" Fran bent down and scooped the little girl up. Kairi moved around a bit, trying to get comfortable in the woman's arms before she started talking about everything that had happened in the past day; the whole time Fran's dark eyes never left Roxas.

When the little girl was done speaking, Fran's eyes finally left Roxas and settled on Axel. "So he's your mate?" The redhead nodded. "He looks a bit young. How old are you, hun?" The Viera asked Roxas.

"S-sixteen," Roxas stuttered. He hated to admit it but the tall woman intimidated him.

This didn't seem to impress Fran as she shot a glare towards Axel, causing the man's posture to shrink as he tried to make himself smaller. "That's a bit young don't you think?" Once the Viera decided the redhead had enough, she shifted a softer gaze towards Roxas. "Come here, I need to ask you something in private." Without another word, Fran turned on her heel and walked towards the other side of the clearing.

Roxas was a bit nervous about leaving Axel's side but he didn't sense that the woman wanted to harm him so he followed her. When they were alone, the blond swallowed the lump in his throat before he started to talk. "Umm…Why did we have to leave Axel, ma'am?" Roxas shuffled from foot to foot.

"I just wanted to get some things cleared up," The tall woman said with a smile. "Axel didn't force you into this, did he?" Fran's voice went from sweet and nice to scary and harsh. The small blond flinched.

"H-he didn't force m-me, but he was-wasn't truthful either," Roxas choked out; he was trying not to make his mate sound like the bad guy but deep down Roxas felt like he was. "He was more vague than anything."

The Viera's already cold eyes grew colder. "I'll be right back." And with that Fran walked away from Roxas and towards Axel and Kairi.

The blond couldn't hear what Fran was saying but, by the look on her and Axel's faces, it wasn't good; Fran's face was turning red with anger as she yelled at the redhead who was turning ghost white. Then in a flash the Viera had grabbed Axel by his ear and dragged him over towards the now petrified blond.

"Apologize now," Fran said in a venomous voice to Axel.

The redhead looked just as scared as Roxas felt. "I'm sorry Roxas." The way he said it almost made Roxas laugh. Axel sounded just like Cloud when he would apologize to Sora after he got yelled at by Yuna. An irritated grunt from the Viera made Axel jump. "I didn't mean to trick you in anyway. It's just…didn't you feel it?"

"Feel it?" Roxas echoed.

"The Connection," Fran said in her monotone voice. "It's how Lycanthropes determine who to mate with. I heard it feels like you're being shocked when you touch for the first time. But we Viera don't have The Connection so I don't know firsthand."

Roxas tried to think back to when he first encountered Axel. He remembered feeling something like static electricity. Could that have been it?

With a wave of her hand, Fran dismissed Axel while muttering something about not being done with him. Once the redhead was out of sight, the Viera gave the other boy her attention. "Has Axel told you about his family yet?" Roxas shook his head causing the woman to sigh. "I don't think he'll like me telling you any of this but I know that boy. He'll probably never tell you or at least he won't tell you everything and end up confusing you.

His parents are dead. The current pack leader killed them because Axel's father was the alpha at the time. I don't know why he would kill Aerith though. Such a nice woman." Fran seemed to get lost in her thoughts for a moment before she shook herself out of it. "Since Axel was still considered a pup, the new alpha couldn't do anything to him or Kairi. They came here until Axel had matured and he left with Kairi. That was about two years ago…"

Roxas looked down at the ground as he tried to process what Fran had told him. He couldn't help but feel bad for the redhead. Roxas couldn't imagine one of his parents dying let alone both of them. And he had to take care of his baby sister all by himself on top of it.

Without even realizing it, the blond started to cry. His heart was filled with pity for his mate and he felt a bit guilty for being such an ass to him. The poor guy just couldn't catch a break. Roxas felt warm arms wrap around him as he was pulled into a hug that Roxas returned. "What did you do?" Axel hissed at the Viera.

"I just told him things I know you wouldn't." Fran was quite frank. She knew that it didn't matter how pissed Axel got towards her, he wouldn't do any harm towards her.

The jingle noise was back which snapped Roxas out of his funk as he pushed himself away from Axel and looked around the immediate area. The green Heartless from earlier was back and flying above the trio. The blond wanted to run from it but was held in place by Axel.

"It's okay. That's not a bad Heartless. He's one of Fran's helpers. It's called a Green Requiem but we just call him Emerald." The Heartless jingled again and flew away. A small smile crept on the blond's face as he thought about how wrong he was about Heartless. He thought all of them were bad.

Axel rubbed the back of his neck. "Well we really need to get going before it gets too late. Are you sure it's fine to keep Kairi here? I mean if it's too inconvenient I can always try to get ahold of Riku."

Fran put her hands on her hips and glared at the redhead. "And why would it be inconvenient?" Before Kairi, taking care of your mate should be your first priority."

And with that Axel and Roxas were off to the Outerlands.

It was a quiet walk towards Roxas's old home. Roxas had so many questions he wanted to ask but he just couldn't bring himself to since he was terrified of the answers. Like when would he go into Heat? And when he did and if he got pregnant, then what? He didn't have experience with babies any than the very few times he watched Naminé. How was any of this even possible?

The walk to the Outerlands was eerily quiet but neither Axel nor Roxas knew how to break the silence. It wasn't until they reached the forest border that Roxas spoke. "Let's go get something to eat."

With Roxas's guidance, the two found a cozy little diner that was located towards the back of town that the blond knew none of his family or friends would go.

Axel glanced over the menu and with a confused look. It didn't take Roxas long to realize what the problem was. Axel couldn't read. The blond slowly slid out of his side of the booth and moved so he was next to his mate.

"What do you like to eat?" Roxas asked as quietly as he could so no one would think anything suspicious; maybe they would think the two were on a date.

Axel leaned down so his cheek was resting on top of Roxas's head and his eyes were still on the menu. "I don't know. Something bloody?" That made Roxas shudder a bit. He couldn't get used to the sight of blood dripping off of his food.

"Okay, so how about we get you a raw steak? I think I'm going to get a grilled cheese." Roxas decided with a firm nod. He wanted to stay away from anything meat at the moment. The waitress came and left with their orders.

The diner started to fill up and it made Roxas feel a bit anxious. What if someone recognized him? Axel seemed to sense this and wrapped his arm around his mate's shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you."

Their food quickly came and while Axel wolfed down his plate. Roxas was having a hard time swallowing down his cheese sandwich; even the fries tasted a bit bland to him. He couldn't put his finger on what was wrong.

"Here, I'm full." Axel said as he slid his plate over to the blond. Roxas looked up at Axel to see if it was okay. "I don't want anymore. Besides you look like death trying to gulp down that shit." The redhead pointed at Roxas's plate.

Roxas nodded. "Okay. Thanks." Before he could process what he was doing, he leaned up and gave the redhead a kiss on the cheek. He took a bite of the bloody steak and was surprised to find it to be a million times better than his grilled cheese.

When the younger finished his meal, they paid with what little cash Roxas had on him when he was turned into a Lycanthrope. Axel grabbed his mates hand as they left the diner.

"I don't want you to get lost." He smiled down at Roxas making the boy pout.

"I've lived here my whole life. I'm not going to get lost."

Axel bent down so he could peck his blond on the lips. "Well, indulge me then." And Roxas didn't fight it. The two walked towards Roxas's home both lost in their own thoughts. Axel was nervous about what would happen if his mate saw his family. Would they keep him and Roxas wouldn't be able to come back to him? Or worse, what if Roxas decided himself to leave the redhead? Would Axel be able to drag his little blond away from what makes him happy?

Roxas was excited about going home. He knew he wouldn't see his family around this time and, even if he did, he knew it would be a bad idea for them to see him. As much as he missed them, he had a feeling that Axel and Kairi needed him.

Soon they found themselves in front of the house. Axel let go of Roxas's hand and slowly backed away. At the blond's confused look Axel explained. "I need to go do something. I'll meet you by the park when you're done." And with that the redhead was gone.

Roxas turned back to his home and tried to open the front door only to find it locked. That was a good sign, it meant no one was home. The blond located the spare key under a rock in his mother's garden. Once inside, he locked the door so if anyone came back they wouldn't be suspicious then went straight towards his room. The small room hadn't changed which put a smile on the boy's face. He walked over to the closet, pulled out an old gym bag and packed it with his clothes, being careful of not taking too many since he didn't want anyone to know he had been there. After stuffing the bag with clothes and a few other things he felt he would need, Roxas started to head back up the stairs.

Half way up, Roxas remembered something and went back down to grab his notebook.

Maybe I have enough time…

Roxas sat down at his desk and scribbled the end of the story he had promised Naminé. After about an hour and a half, he was satisfied with his work. A glance at the alarm clock told the blond that he didn't have that much time.

He had to be quick if he didn't want anyone to see him. So he ran back up the stairs as quick as he could, dropped the gym bag off in the living room, dashed up to the second story and down the hall till he was in his little sister's room. Glowing blue eyes scanned the room for a moment as he tried to figure out where to stash the notebook so that his sister would find it but still be out of sight so no one else would see it.

There! Roxas found the spot. He went up to the toy box that Naminé used to keep her art supplies in. He moved some paints around till he found the small stack of coloring books. The notebook as placed under the first book and the paint was put back in its place.

Then there was a click followed by voices.

"Shit!" Roxas quietly muttered. He took too long.

"I'm hungry, Mommy." Roxas could pick up on his baby sister's voice.

"What do you want?" Yuna.

"Waffles! Can I come help?"

Roxas could feel himself relax when he didn't hear anyone come up the stairs. That meant if he was quick enough he could make it to the living room to grab his things and bolt out of there.

He had to take a few deep breaths to calm his nerves before he opened the bedroom door. A glance over the banister showed that there was no one in the living room and there was a lot of noises coming from the archway that lead to the kitchen.

Roxas sprinted down the stairs, being mindful of the ones that squeaked, and dashed towards the bag he left by the sofa. So far so good.

Then the doorknob to Roxas's exit started to turn. The blond had to make a dive behind the sofa to hide himself.

"Honey, I'm home!" Tidus yelled as he kicked his shows off. Roxas could hear Naminé scrambling out of the kitchen and bolting into the living room to greet her father. "Hey, Princess! How was your day?" The blond man said as he scooped his daughter up and carried her back to the kitchen.

Roxas let out an inaudible sigh of relief and with his bag in hand, sprinted towards the door. As he yanked the door open and closed it behind him he could hear his mother talking through the thick slab of wood as she walked out of the kitchen with Naminé close on her heels.

"Fuck that was close," The blond mumbled to himself as he turned away from his home and ran towards the park.

Axel was sitting on a rusty swing that looked like it was on the verge of collapsing. Axel was looking at something that he was tossing from hand to hand but once he sensed his mate's presence he looked up.

"Hey. Took you long enough," The taller boy said as he got up from his seat and started to walk towards Roxas while pocketing whatever he was holding. "Did you get everything?"

Roxas nodded. "Yup. And I almost got caught leaving, but no one saw me. Did you get whatever you needed?"

Axel didn't seem to like the fact that his mate almost got caught but had no choice to shrug it off. "I did." He flashed Roxas a small pack of hair clips and ties. "It's going to be Kairi's birthday soon so I needed to get her a present. That's why I was out here when we met. And this is for you." The redhead pulled out a switch blade out his pocket and handed it to the blond.

Roxas took the offered knife and played with the button, making the blade come out before pushing it back in only to hit the button again as he tried to get used to holding the weapon. "Thanks, but why?"

The redhead shrugged. "I noticed you don't like tearing meat apart when you eat so I thought it would help. Not to mention it would help with self-defense if anything were to happen."

A small smile tugged at Roxas lips. He couldn't help but feel happy that Axel would notice something as small as that. Before he lost the nerve, Roxas stood on his tippy-toes and kissed his mate. Axel tried to pry the blond's lips apart with his tongue but was denied as Roxas pulled away.

"Thank you, really," Roxas said as he grabbed Axel's hand and started to walk farther back into the woods. "Now let's go back and get Kairi before it gets too late."


	8. 72 Hours

Seventy-two hours. That's how long Yuna had to wait before the cops would announce her youngest son missing and it had only been forty hours. The brunette woman had called all over town asking if anyone had seen Roxas. Her father said that the boy never showed and had assumed he ran into some friends and simply forgot. Hayner said he hadn't seen Roxas since they went out for ice cream the day before. Olette and Pence mentioned something about a new girl in town that Roxas might have gone to see.

This 'new girl' was the best lead. Except, no one in the small town knew of a new girl.

Yuna sighed as she rested her head on the kitchen table. She didn't know what to do and she was worried about her child. What if someone had kidnapped him? By the time the cops got involved, he could far away and out of their reach. Or maybe he was lying somewhere, bleeding to death? The young mother pulled at her hair in frustration, letting out a low growl.

A warm comforting hand was placed on Yuna's shoulder. Her head shot up and her mismatched eyes landed on Tidus, who gave her a sad smile. "It's going to be okay, Hun," The man said as he took the empty seat next to his wife. "Roxas is smart. He'll come back."

Yuna moaned as she placed her head on her husband's shoulder. "I just don't know what to do. It's not like him to wonder off and not tell anyone where he's going. And I know Naminé's going start asking about him soon. How do I tell her we don't know where her big brother is?"

"Don't worry, Auron's out looking for him and you know he won't stop until Roxas is found." The blond tried to comfort Yuna. The brunette nodded as a loud yawn escaped. "You haven't been sleeping huh? Come on, let's hit the hay," Tidus said as he stood up and walked up to his room with Yuna's hand grasped in his.

Two sets of sapphire blue eyes watched their parents go up the dark flight steps. Sora and Cloud had been eavesdropping, trying to figure out what was going on. They weren't as naïve as Naminé. They knew something wrong was going on with Roxas. Both Cloud and Sora even noticed that some of Roxas's things had gone missing too.

"We should go find him," The brunet pleaded, his large eyes looking at his older brother. Sora was having a hard time doing nothing while his twin was missing.

"Uncle Auron is already out looking for him and the cops will be out in a day or so. We shouldn't worry Mom by going out on our own." Cloud tried to be logical but it just wasn't right for someone to go missing in their little town. In fact no one had disappeared or gone missing for longer than a few hours. That Roxas was the first gave Cloud a bad feeling and he wanted to keep Sora away from any danger for a long as possible.

Sora on the other hand didn't care about any meaning behind the disappearance. His twin brother was missing. He glared at his older brother before standing up. "He was here though," The brunet whispered to his older brother. "A lot of his clothes are missing and so is his notebook." He stormed off towards their basement bedroom.

"And what if he just went to a friend's house and didn't tell anyone? You're just freaking out over nothing." Cloud followed after him.

"None of his friends have seen him! I know he's not in town. I am his twin after all." Sora said the last part of his statement with pride.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "You know what, fine, let's head down to Hayner's and see what's up. If he's not there, then we'll go look for him." The tall blond stuck his hand out. "Deal?"

"Deal!"

~x~X~x~X~

A sharp pain shot up Roxas's spine, causing the boy to cry out in pain and hang onto the nearest tree. He had been walking all night with Axel to get back to Fran's burrow.

"Roxas? You okay?" Axel stopped walking once he realized the boy wasn't following him anymore. The taller man knew that the boy was probably tired and needed a break but, when he turned around and saw the pained expression on Roxas's face, worry flooded his mind. "Shit, what's wrong?" The redhead was at the boy's side in a heartbeat, fretting over his young his mate.

"I'm fine. Just a bit of back pain." Roxas grunted around the pain. "I don't know what happened though," He quickly added. He really didn't know what was going on. It wasn't like he was carrying anything or slept on it wrong. So why was it hurting so bad?

Axel bit his lower lip in thought. "Maybe your body wants to change?" This never happened to him. Maybe because Roxas wasn't a born Lycanthrope, his body might be reacting to the change differently. Being marked Submissive probably didn't help either.

Roxas didn't like that idea and shook his head. "We should keep going and ask Fran about it. I think that would be better."

"Only if you think you can make it there. Or do you need me to carry you?" Axel didn't like seeing the boy in such discomfort but, with him already carrying Roxas's things, carrying the boy would be difficult.

"It's not that much farther; I think I can make it." He pushed himself off the tree and continued walking with Axel quick to follow. Once the redhead caught up to Roxas, he grabbed his hand.

Soon the two found themselves in the clearing that their Viera friend lived in. It was a bit too quiet and neither Roxas nor Axel could spot Fran or Kairi.

"Maybe they're underground," Axel suggested. "If not, you can at least go lay down and I'll go look for them." A warm hand gently stroked Roxas's back as Axel added the last part in. The blond agreed. Once inside the dark little cove, Axel concluded that no one was home and guided his mate around twisting hallways until they ended up at a door. "This used to be my old room. I don't think Fran will have a problem if you stay here."

Roxas fidgeted from one foot to the next. He didn't like the thought of being left alone in a place he didn't know very well. He wanted to ask Axel to stay with him, to wait for the girls to come back, yet he didn't want to get too comfortable with the other man; after all Axel was the reason Roxas had to leave his whole life behind. Roxas wasn't ready to forgive him for that.

Green eyes zeroed in on Roxas. "Do you want me to stay?" The redhead's voice was quiet, as though he would scare the younger boy if he spoke any louder. When Roxas never looked up or even acknowledged the fact that Axel said anything, the redhead reached out and stroked the boy's spikey hair. "You don't have to stay by yourself if you don't want to. I'm only going so I can find Fran so she can take a look at you faster. But I have no problem being with you."

Roxas chewed at his bottom lip. He wasn't sure about what he wanted. After a tense minute, the blond gently pushed Axel out of the doorway. "I think it'd be better if you just went and found them. I have some things I need to work out on my own."

Axel nodded in understanding. As he tried to give his mate a kiss goodbye, he was shoved away and a door was slammed in his face. "The fuck?" The redhead mumbled to himself while he rubbed the back of his head in confusion as he turned to find his little sister and her babysitter.

Roxas slid down the door he was leaning against. He didn't know what to do with Axel. They got along so well and, even though Roxas felt like the redhead fucked up his life, Roxas couldn't hate the man. It just felt to right to be with him. He couldn't get enough of how warm the redhead's touches were, his vibrant eye color that always held what looked like love and admiration in them when he looked down on Roxas, hell, Roxas even found Axel's light snores comforting when he slept and they had only shared a bed for one night.

It seemed like hours passed by before Roxas's back protested enough to make him move from his spot on the door.

The small room consisted of a wooden dresser with only two drawers, a twin sized bed that was covered with black silk sheets, and a small chest with a lock on it at the foot of the bed.

Roxas flopped onto the soft bed with a sigh of relief. He crawled under the blankets and fell asleep with a small thought of how the bed smelled of his mate.

~X~x~X~x~

"No, haven't seen him," Pence said. He was standing out on his porch with Sora and Cloud in nothing but a pair of boxers and a wife beater. The two Jecht kids had woken him up by banging on his bedroom window in the middle of the night.

Sora sent his older brother a look. "See, I told you that he wasn't at anyone's house." The brunet stuck his tongue out at the taller boy only to get smacked in the face. The brunet not being one to back out of a fight leapt at Cloud and the two started a small fight in the front yard.

Pence rocked from one foot to the next as he stood there awkwardly, "Well…umm…since he's not here and all, I'm just going to go back inside now. I'll see you two tomorrow or something." And with that the boy stepped back into his home and closed the large oak door.

As the porch light turned off, Cloud climbed off of Sora and since neither of them could come up with a reason to hang around they made their way down the deserted streets. A violent shiver went up Sora's body as a winter wind blew by. A small voice in the back of his head predicted it as a bad omen but the optimistic boy quickly pushed that thought aside.

"So are we gonna go look for him now?" Sora asked in an annoyed voice. He placed both hands on his hips and he glared up at his older brother.

After a few moments of thought, Cloud spoke up. "We're not," He said but, before Sora could say anything in protest, the blond added. "But I am."


	9. Heartless and Anxiety Attacks

"Will you hurry up?" An angry wolf growled behind him, causing the smaller, silver wolf to flinch at his tone. Xigbar was not in a good mood. It was a good half-day's walk from his pack's dens to Axel's and the older wolf did not like being away from his mate and pups for long. It didn't help that they had to stop for the night on the way back when night fell.

Riku trailed behind the older Lycanthrope with his silver ears tucked back. He had to listen to Xigbar's moaning the moment they left Axel's den and he hoped the old man would just shut up.

"You're lucky your mother sent me out to find you before Xemnas could catch wind of you being gone. She can cover it up like we went out for some bonding time or something. Maybe hunting." The older wolf mumbled. "Be sure to thank her when we get back."

Riku nodded his head. "Yes, sir." The smaller wolf didn't need to be told to thank his mother; he would have done as much. If the leader of their little pack found out he wondered away to see a certain redhead, he knew he could face banishment, maybe even death if Xemnas saw fit.

The black and white stripped wolf stopped walking for a moment to give Riku a bit of time to catch up to him before he started to talk again. "And when you're done with that, I want you to spend some time with your aunts and uncle. They miss you." Xigbar let out a weak chuckle.

A smile spread across Riku's face at the thought. He enjoyed hanging out with his extended family a bit more than spending time with his closer family. "In other words, you want me to babysit for you?"

"Don't complain. You owe me for picking your sorry ass up." Xigbar growled at the boy before he sped up his pace. The sooner he made it home the better.

~x~X~x~X~

In the large forest outside of Twilight Town, there were rocky hills that lead to a small crater. And, once upon a time, a group of Lycanthropes had once called it home.

It only took Xigbar and Riku a couple of hours to reach said hill and climb it. At the very top stood an anxious blond with electric blue eyes. She was nibbling on the tip of her thumb, lost in thought as she paced.

"Yo! Princess!" Xigbar called up to the woman, making her stop in her tracks and take note of the pair. "Did you miss us?"

Larxene relaxed and she ran over to the two wolves. Once she was close enough, she dropped to her knees and pulled the small silver one into her. "What the hell were you thinking Riku? Don't you know what Xemnas could do if he found out where you went?" The blond pulled away and leaned over to hug Xigbar. "Thanks Pops. I think Mom's in your den and I'm pretty sure he's getting antsy."

Xigbar gave the woman a lick to her cheek before making a quick exit. Larxene turned her blue eyes towards Riku. "And you, what the hell were you thinking, Riku? You think just because you're a pup Xemnas will let you off easily?" A growl rose from her throat.

The silver haired wolf let out a small whine as he ears flattened. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'll make sure to tell you or Marluxia next time I leave."

Larxene rubbed the spot between Riku's ears with a grin on her face. "You better, you little shit. Now come on, let's go before anyone notices us missing." The blond stood from her spot among the sharp rocks and made her way down the crater to her den with her son. As an afterthought, she threw over her shoulder. "And quit calling your father by his first name."

A boy smaller than Riku sat at the entrance of their den reading a rather large book that looked like it could snap his arms off if he tried to lift it. He had choppy steel colored hair with bangs that fell to one side of his face to show only one of his blue eyes.

"I see you finally decided to come back." The boy said as Riku passed him to go inside earning a low growl from the silver wolf.

"Be nice, Zexion. I don't need the two of you fighting today. And you too, Riku." Larxene said as she motioned with her hand for the boy to follow her into the den.

The setting sun filled the room with light, illuminating the rather large opening that housed four Lycanthropes. There were no elaborate halls or trap doors in the den; only three well sized beds and two dressers filled with the necessities. It was no different from any other den, though some families had more or fewer beds.

Zexion went straight for his bed and spread across it on his stomach, his blue eyes glowing in the dim room. Riku walked over to the pink-headed man who sat at the edge of the largest bed near the entrance of the den.

"I'm sorry, Dad." Riku sighed out. His teal eyes gazed at Marluxia's shoes instead of his face. "I should have said I was leaving and not worry you and Mom."

Marluxia let out a low growl before he stood up and stormed past Riku with a slight shove, causing the boy to lose his balance for a moment, and left the cave. Larxene stood by the entrance but stayed quiet until her mate was a good distance away from the den before she approached her oldest son.

"Riku, you know he loves you, right?" She stroked the boy's silver hair with one hand while the other held his face up so he'd look her in the eye.

The boy shook his face out of Larxene's grasp so the woman wasn't touching him anymore. "No he doesn't and he never will. Now if you'll excuse me, Xigbar asked me to babysit for him." And with that he pushed past his mother and stormed out of the den.

He just wanted to see how his friend was doing. Why was everyone giving him so much trouble for caring about the wellbeing of two old pack members?

X~x~X~x

Axel was getting worried. He had been walking the perimeter of Fran's property for a good hour and hadn't seen the Viera or his baby sister. Roxas being in pain wasn't helping the redhead's anxiety.

The sun was disappearing behind the horizon, making Axel bite his lower lip. He had a choice to make, either keep searching and hope no Heartless found him or retreat back to the burrow and wait for the girls to return unharmed.

Or maybe he could go hunting and for himself and Roxas and find Fran on the way? Taking a hard turn away from the burrow, Axel traveled into the woods while stripping his clothes off to make shifting easier.

Once he was in his wolf form, Axel sprinted off to where he thought he would find a deer or at least a rabbit.

Axel traveled the quiet forest for some time without running into a single creature or hearing anything. The silence was deafening and the setting sun was creating large shadows that were setting the red wolf on edge.

Then a large figure fell from the trees.

The figure stood at the same height as Axel in his wolf form. It was covered with blue fur of different shades. The heart emblem across its chest didn't help ease Axel's worries anymore. The Powerwild's ears twitched in attention and its tail swished back and forth as it eyed down its prey.

In the blink of an eye, it charged Axel with a loud yell.

~X~x~X~x~

Roxas startled awake from his deep sleep. A sick, crawling feeling went down his spine and the blond knew something was wrong. Roxas wanted to do nothing more than to jump out of bed and look for his mate. Maybe if he could get his hands on the redhead, could grab something solid and tangible, it would calm his nerves.

The small boy climbed out of the bed, made his way out of the room and down the dark halls. He found himself at a couple of dead-ends and got turned around more times than he would like to admit but Roxas found himself above ground where the cold wind brushed his face and the setting sun gave everything a golden hue.

A silhouette made its way out of the brush. Blue eyes squinted. Roxas let out the breath he didn't know he was holding when he saw the large rabbit ears and the figure of a little girl planted on the woman's shoulders.

When Kairi saw Roxas, she squirmed around, signaling to Fran that she wanted down. The Viera bent down low enough for the little girl to climb down and rushed to the blond. Kairi sent them both to the ground in her excitement, causing Roxas's back to spasm in pain.

"Roxy! I missed you! Did you and Big Brother have fun? Where is Big Brother?" Kairi rambled as she looked around the clearing for the familiar face. When she didn't see Axel, the girl slid off of her brother's mate and walked in a small circle, trying to see if he was just hiding. "Big Brother?" Kairi's wide blue eyes scanned everything around her to find the one person that had always been there for her.

Tears welled up in her eyes and little hiccups sounded from her throat. In a heartbeat, Kairi was wrapped in warm arms and a comforting hand rubbing up and down her back.

"It's okay. Axel will be back. He went out not too long ago to find you. He'll be back before it gets too dark." Roxas cooed to the small girl. Naminé didn't throw many tantrums or cry over many things but, the few times that she did, Roxas was always there to calm her down; he wasn't going to treat Kairi any differently.

Small hands grabbed onto the front of his shirt as the redheaded girl's sobs turned into quiet whimpers as Kairi tried to calm down.

Once her breathing evened out, the girl peeped out from Roxas's chest. Tears were drying on her flushed cheeks and the hands that were grabbing at Roxas's back shook.

"Big Brother." Kairi started, as if she was choosing her words carefully for her own sake. "He…he's coming back soon, right?" The misty look the tears had left in Kairi's blue eyes seemed to lift.

Roxas chuckled and played with the girl's shoulder length hair. "Of course he is. He wouldn't want to stay away from you for too long."

The redhead nodded in agreement and turned towards the Viera. "Auntie Fran, can I play in my room until Big Brother comes back?" When the older woman nodded in approval, Kairi wasted no time in running out of Roxas's arms and into the dark abyss of the burrow.

When Kairi was out of earshot, Roxas sat back up only to hiss in pain. His hands went to his lower back. Fran knelt beside the young man.

"Are you alright?" Fran's healer instincts kicked in and she helped stand the boy up, inspecting Roxas's body.

"I've been having some back pain. It just started when we got back." Roxas hissed out between clenched teeth.

A warm hand slipped under his shirt and rubbed the length of his back searching for any cuts or bumps. When she found none, Fran removed her hand and smiled down at the boy. "Your body's structures are changing so you can bare pups."

Roxas's eyes grew in shock and he struggled to get away from the Viera's hands. "No!" He pushed her away. "I..I can't. It's not possible!"

Fran's smile disappeared. "Did you not know? I swear to God if Axel didn't tell you this would happen…"

Fran's tangent was cut off. "No, I knew. I just…well I guess a part of me hoped they were just joking around." His hand went to his lower back as another spasm wracked his body.

"I can make you some herbal tea that'll help with that." Fran dismissed herself to a small herb garden in the clearing to gather what she needed for the tea.

A sudden crash sounded from the forest, startling them both.

Axel stumbled into view with caked and dried blood dotting his red hair with black. He dragged his left leg behind him.

"Axel!" Roxas yelled as he ran towards his mate's side. The blond reached out to touch Axel but sharp teeth nipped at him with a low growl. His once vibrant green eyes were hazed over. Roxas pulled away just in time for no teeth to find flesh.

Warm hands grasped his shoulders and pulled him farther from Axel. "Go find Kairi and make sure she doesn't come back up here." Fran said as she pushed Roxas towards the entrance to the burrow. Once the boy had left, she brought two fingers up to her mouth and whistled. A familiar Green Rhapsody flew out of the trees and towards the Viera. "Looks like we have a long night ahead of us, Emerald."

Fran went about gathering everything necessary to fix up Axel while the Heartless flew above the redhead to help relieve pain and calm him. The Viera came back with a basket of supplies on one hip and a bucket of water on the other. She dunked a rag in the water and cleaned the dry blood out of red fur with gentle strokes.

At least ten pairs of eyes gazed out from the shadows of the forest at the lost meal they wouldn't give up on.


	10. Squall

Cloud shifted uncomfortably as he walked through the dark woods, the moon as his only source of light. During the entire journey, he felt eyes boring into his skin, but there wasn't a soul in sight. There was no breeze to rustle the leaves or birds chirping. Everything was silent.

All the stories his grandfather told him ran through his head. Cloud tried hard to keep his nerves from sending him screaming through the trees. He wouldn't want anyone to see him like that.

Off in the distance, a wolf howled. Cloud pulled out a hunting knife hidden in his boot in an instant. If the beast came after him, Cloud needed to be ready. But the sound died as quickly as it had come, calming the blond's nerves.

He needed to find Roxas so they could leave. And soon.

~X~x~X~x~

Roxas paced the room as Kairi watched him from the bed. It kept him from thinking of Axel and from feeling embarrassed. When he had first gone into the underground home, he couldn't find the little girl so he followed her scent. He had sniffed her out. Like a dog.

"Roxy?" A small hand grabbed his shirt causing him to stop in his tracks. "What's wrong? Is it Big Brother?" Her big blue eyes filled with tears. "I-is something wrong with him? I'm a big girl; I can handle the truth," The little girl pleaded.

The blond gave the girl a worried look. "Don't worry, Kairi. Everything is going to be okay." Roxas's eyes dropped from Kairi's face and towards her feet. "Everything's going to be alright," He whispered more for himself than for the young child.

Kairi jumped off the bed and hugged the scared boy. "I don't know what's going on Roxy, but I'll always be here for you and Big Brother." As Roxas wrapped his arms around her shoulders, he had to remind himself that she was still just a child.

Both pairs of blue eyes weld up with tears as Roxas pulled Kairi into a tighter hug and whispered comforting words. They stayed that way until Kairi's arms fell away. She had fallen asleep.

Roxas picked up the girl and placed her under the covers of the bed. Once he was sure Kairi wasn't going to wake up, he bolted for the door and made his way back to the surface as fast as his short legs could take him.

Only faint figures marked where Fran and Axel were in the clearing. The wolf had either calmed down or passed out from the pain.

The little, tame green Heartless floated above Roxas's head and jingled before it flew back over to its owner, jingling again as if telling Roxas to follow it. The blond approached the Viera and his mate.

Axel was asleep with his head rested on Fran's lap. Axel was still in his wolf form which hindered Roxas from seeing the extent of the man's injuries but since he didn't seem to be in pain it reassured Roxas that he was fine.

Fran noticed Roxas coming as she let her gaze leave her patient to the young boy. "He's lost a lot of blood but the lacerations weren't deep enough to need stiches. His back left leg is fractured so he can't go hunting and must restrict his movements. But other than that he seems fine."

Roxas opened his mouth to reply but a loud screech stopped him. Blue eyes darted in the direction of the sound and in the faint light Roxas could just make out a monkey-like creature jumping from tree to tree.

"Heartless. We need to go back inside." Roxas was having a hard time getting his voice out but Fran understood.

"They can't come here," The woman said as she pulled Roxas to sit next to her and pointed to the rows of flowers at the border of the clearing. "See those flowers?" They were the same ones Roxas was admiring when he first came to the burrow. "They have magic properties that keep the Heartless away," Fran explained.

Roxas looked over at the flowers and then towards the Heartless that now looked angry and hungry. "So we're safe here?"

"Yes."

"But how does it work? I mean, they're just flowers. Couldn't the Heartless just jump over them or something?" Roxas scrunched up his face in confusion. It was ridiculous. But then again so was everything else in his life now.

Fran sighed and moved her hand from Axel's fur to brush Roxas's blond bangs out of his eyes. "Magic cannot be explained. Some of it can be. Like how you became what you now are. But other things, they just are and you have to take it for what it is."

"I don't-" Roxas was interrupted when Axel growled in his sleep before opening his jade eyes and letting out a fierce snarl. "Axel!" Roxas yelped.

The redhead tried to get up but stumbled under his weight and lay back down. "What happened?" He whined.

"You were attacked by a Heartless and got pretty beat up," Roxas said as he reached out and rubbed a spot behind Axel's ear. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit. Where's Kairi?" Axel's voice was weak, looked like he was about to go back into his dreamland but the wolf was stubborn and refused his body what it needed. He needed his mate.

"She's in her room." Roxas turned his attention towards the Viera who only heard grunts from the wolf. "Can you go and check on her for me? And if she's up, tell her Axel's fine and to stop worrying." Fran nodded and did as she was bid, giving the mated pair their privacy.

Once the Viera was gone, Roxas let out a low sigh that caught Axel's attention. "Something wrong?" Axel asked as he placed his head in his mate's lap.

"I was just so scared. I feel kind of stupid and lame for it now."

"But…"

"But, you were just so out of your mind. I mean, you snapped at me, Axel! You tried to bite me," Roxas finished with a weak voice.

Axel whined and rubbed the blond's side with his face in an attempt to comfort the boy. "And I'm very sorry for that, love. But let's see how you handle being blind with pain and in a panic." The red wolf let out a weak chuckle. "I'm sorry I've worried you so much."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Axel nudged Roxas to lie down. "Now it's sleepy time. We have to go back to the den in the morning."

"But you've hurt your leg. Shouldn't we stay for another day?" Roxas asked as he curled himself around Axel, being mindful not to touch any wounds.

"I'll be fine. It's not too far of a journey." Axel yawned and pressed his wet nose into Roxas's neck making the boy shiver. "Besides, I'd rather have you than Fran fretting over me."

Roxas let out a forced laugh at the redhead's crappy flirting attempts. "Whatever."

~x~X~x~X~

Okay. I know I've seen that tree before. Cloud thought to himself as he wandered the woods. The oldest blond found himself walking in circles. The night seemed to be never ending and the quick glimpses of shadows following him made Cloud wish he never stepped foot into the forest.

The blade Cloud had hidden in his boot never found its way back into his boot. Instead, he kept it in his hand in case he needed to defend himself or hunt.

Cloud made a rash decision on which route to next take, hoping his baby brother was somewhere along the path.

"You shouldn't be here," A low voice said behind Cloud.

The blond almost screamed as he turned with his knife at the ready.

Blue eyes widened at the man standing there. He was an inch or so taller than Cloud. His hair was short with random strands framing his face and his stormy grey eyes. He was clad in dark clothes that helped him blend in with the night.

"I'm looking for someone, my brother. Maybe you've seen him? He's looks a lot like me but a hell of lot shorter. Goes by the name Roxas." The blade stayed raised.

The man shook his head. "Never heard of him. It's rare for humans to wander in here and for good reasons too. Go home."

The man went to turn and go back to where he had come from but Cloud grabbed his arm and held him in place. "If you haven't seen him then can you help me find him? You seem to know your way around. Please."

The man paused before turning to Cloud. "Squall."

"What?" Cloud was confused and freaked out by this person. Maybe he was insane and that's why he was talking about humans like he wasn't one. The blond was starting to regret asking this man anything.

"My name is Squall. And I guess I'll help you. The faster we find your brother, the sooner the two of you will be out of here. Come on, my tree isn't far from here." Squall pulled his arm from Cloud's grasp and continued walking with the blond not too far behind. "You got a name, human?" He threw over his shoulder at the blond.

"Cloud."


	11. A New Dawn

"You live in a tree?" Cloud looked up at Squall's home, his eye twitching. This man had to be playing with him; there was no way in hell someone could live in a tree. "How the fuck can you live in a tree?" Blue eyes scanned the lump of bark. It had seen better days as its leaves were wilted and its branches dull. "It's dead anyway."

The brunet growled deep in his throat. "It's not dead!" Squall's stormy eyes were narrowed in Cloud's direction. "And if you're so displeased with it, why don't you just go look for your brother on your own and let the Heartless have at you?"

Cloud put his hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry, didn't mean any offence. So how do you live here anyway? I mean, it's just a tree. No house." Cloud mused as he looked at the surroundings.

Squall gave the blond a cocky little grin. "Like this." He placed a palm on the rough bark of the tree. A green light wrapped around the brunet's wrist, made its way up his arm and kept moving till Squall was swallowed by the light. Then the man sank into the tree.

The blond let out a loud yell and scrambled away, watching in horror as Squall disappeared.

"This is insane. What…? Squall!" Cloud ran towards the tree and ran his hands over the bark. It was solid and no weird light was coming out of it threatening to drag him in.

"Don't panic. I'm right here." The voice seemed to come from the tree. A hand shot out of the bark and pushed Cloud back a few steps. "And would you stop crowding me?"

Cloud yelped as he was pushed back. Blue eyes wide with shock. "What the fuck!" Cloud felt like he was going to have a heart attack. Apparently this man wasn't just a weird human like the blond had originally thought. He must have been one of the creatures from his grandfather's legends.

Squall shot Cloud a confused look as he fused out of the tree. "What's wrong? Never seen a Nymph before?" The brunet placed his hands on his hips.

"A what?" It took all of Cloud's power to not stutter. His heart was still beating a million miles a second and he couldn't seem to calm it down.

"Nymph. You know, like a Tree Nymph." Squall shrugged his shoulders. "But don't worry. There are deadlier creatures lurking in the forest than me so don't look at me like I'm a monster."

Cloud swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "Okay, so you're a Tree Nymph. What of it? You're still going to help me find Roxas, right?" The blond tried his hardest not sound frightened. From what Braska had told him as a child, Nymphs were harmless unless you threatened their life source. And in this case it looked like the almost dead tree was Squall's.

Squall looked up at the sky to judge the time. "It's too late now. Let's get some rest and we'll start in the morning. And don't give me that look. We won't get far before the Heartless attack us anyway."

With that, the Tree Nymph fused back with his tree, leaving Cloud all alone. The blonde shivered from the cold night air and looked around him. Squall had said something about Heartless and that thought scared Cloud. He needed to find somewhere safe to sleep.

"The Heartless won't come near this tree. You should be safe in the branches." A voice came from the tree.

Cloud looked up at the dying hunk of wood. Just how safe would he be up there? A growl sounded behind him causing the boy to scramble up the tree till he was at a branch that was thick enough to hold his weight. It would be a long night.

~x~X~x~X~

The sun had been up for only an hour but Roxas was roaming around the forest in his wolf form with Kairi close behind him. Axel's injuries were too severe for him to hunt, leaving the job to the two inexperienced Lycanthrope.

Roxas's golden ears perked up when he heard a twig snap. He crept towards the noise and saw a fluffy little bunny nibbling on flower petals a few yards away. Roxas looked back at the wine colored wolf. "You want this one?"

Kairi perked up, her fluffy tail wagging in happiness. "Really? Can I Roxy?" The blond nodded in approval and watched as the young girl crept past him. Once she was at a decent distance, Kairi pounced at the rabbit. A squeak sounded as the wind was knocked out of the prey and Kairi sank her fangs into its neck, just like Axel had taught her, and snapped its neck. The youngest wolf trotted back to Roxas with the dead animal hanging from her jaws.

"Good job." Roxas praised the girl. But in reality, he felt a queasy from the sight of the blood dripping from the animal's fur. The metallic smell didn't help. "But…umm…I think that's enough hunting for today. Don't you agree?"

Kairi nodded her head and made her way back to Fran's burrow where Axel was waiting for them under a large pine tree. The girl never noticed that her blond companion wasn't following her.

Meanwhile, Axel had shifted back to his human form and was wrapped up so he couldn't move much. Fran was busy fussing over making medicine to help take away some discomfort from the redhead and help him heal faster on the other side of the green clearing.

The wine colored wolf sat down next to her brother and dropped the bloody rabbit on his lap. Axel poked at the once snow white animal. "Clean kill. You did a good job Kairi." Axel reached over and scratched his little sister behind the ear. The young wolf's tongue lulled out of her mouth to show her happiness as her brother praised her. Red stained Axel's chin and cheeks as he took a few big bites from his meal; eating in his human form made it much harder to keep the gore off of him but that didn't seem to bother the redheaded male.

Once he had eaten his fill, Axel placed the half eaten rabbit in front of his sister. "I'm full so you can have the rest. Oh, and have you seen Roxas?" Axel hadn't seen his little blond since he went off hunting. It was starting to worry him.

The young wolf stopped eating for a minute to answer. "He was with me when hunting. I thought he was right behind me. Maybe he saw something that distracted him?"

Axel hummed as he reclined back into a more comfortable position. He didn't like that Roxas wasn't with Kairi. He made a quiet decision that if his little mate wasn't back in ten minutes, he'd make it his mission to bring him back.

~X~x~X~x~

After Roxas witnessed Kairi kill the poor rabbit, he didn't think he'd be able to face Axel or Kairi as they ate it. The blond's stomach twisted. The smell of blood still hung in air, making it hard for him to breathe. Sure he was proud that Kairi was able to catch the creature and quickly kill it, hoping it didn't' feel too much pain, but she was only a little girl; she shouldn't have to kill anything!

Roxas looked over his shoulder, towards Fran's home. He didn't really want to go back. He knew Axel would figure out something was wrong with him but he just didn't want to deal with that at the moment. Maybe a short walk would help make the nauseous feeling go away.

~X~x~X~x~

Cloud was up as soon as the sun was. He couldn't waste any more time; he needed to find Roxas soon or risk his parents getting even more upset over him going missing as well. The blond jumped off of the decaying branch. Once he managed to brush all the loose brown leaves off of himself, Cloud banged on the side of pine.

"Oi! Wake up!"

A groan came from the dying wood and a green light shimmered around the tree as Squall emerged from its core. The brunet Nymph laced his fingers together and stretched them above his head, popping his joints into place. A loud yawn passed Squall's lips before he was able to talk. "What's your problem?" His stormy grey eyes glared daggers at the blond human.

Cloud bounced on the balls of his feet in anxiety. They needed to leave soon. "Roxas. You promised you would help me look for him." The blond wasn't in the mood for any small talk. He really didn't want to deal with this 'man' anymore.

"Can I eat something first?"

"No."

Squall glare at the blond intensified and the two men found themselves staring, neither wanting to back down. Finally Cloud let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine! You can eat on the way. Deal?"

"Whatever gets you out of my forest faster," Squall mumbled, hoping the blond didn't hear him. Cloud did hear him. "Well, let's go. I think we should go this way." Squall pointed west. "The only water source is over there. That's our best bet." He didn't wait for Cloud's response or even so much as looked at him as he headed in the decided direction.

"Who the fuck does he think he is?" Cloud muttered to himself as he followed the Nymph deeper into the forest.

~X~x~X~x~

Axel's hand tapped on the ground. He predicted that the allotted time he was giving Roxas was over. The redhead glanced over at Kairi who was gnawing on a bone, too absorbed in her meaningless task to take notice of her older brother. Fran's back was turned, still mixing her potions.

Axel took his chances, stood without putting too much pressure on his bad leg and made his way out of the clearing, trying not to draw any attention to himself.

Once he made it to the woods, Axel snapped a branch for a make-shift cane so he wouldn't damage his bad leg. He picked up Kairi and Roxas's scent from when they went hunting. He followed the fading smell until Kairi's wasn't there anymore. He was certain he was hot on Roxas's trail. The farther he went the more worried Axel became. The forest was getting more and more dense.

A flash of gold made Axel halt in his search. Axel sighed in relief when he saw his mate laying down half under a tree; he had somehow managed to squeeze his lower half under some large roots. Large blue eyes were drooped down and gold ears were unresponsive to Axel's movements, showing Roxas had not heard Axel approach him.

"Roxas…" Axel's voice was low so he wouldn't startle his mate.

The blond wolf jolted at the noise. He smacked his head of a root that was hanging above him. A whine came from the base of Roxas's throat. Large, warm hands grabbed Roxas by the chin and Axel kissed the bump on Roxas's head.

"Better?"

"A little." Roxas nudged his head harder into Axel's hand, enjoying the warmth that spread through his body. "I'm sorry. I should've come back, but I just wasn't feeling good and wanted some time to myself."

Axel chuckled at his meek mate and sat next to him so Roxas could rest his head in the redhead's lap. Axel looked down at Roxas with a worried look. "What's wrong?" A large hand cupped Roxas's face so the young wolf was forced to look up at him.

Roxas sighed and shook his head free from the redhead. "I...I don't know. I just couldn't handle all the blood. I don't think I can do this Axel."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't handle the smell of blood; it just makes me feel so sick, so I can't help you with hunting. And Fran told me my back pain is my body getting ready for my first Heat. And it scares me. I'm not ready for any of this! I just want to go home!" Tears collected in Roxas's dark blue eyes.

Axel hushed the boy with some comforting words. "Everything will be okay, I promise you that. If you don't want to hunt then fine. Just go with Kairi to make sure nothing happens to her; I'll be back in action before you know it and you won't have to deal with it anymore. As for your Heat? There's pretty much no getting around that. I can try to hold back till you're ready but if another Lycanthrope smells you and I'm not there to protect you then there's nothing I can do at all; it'll be better for you if you just submit to it as soon as it happens." Axel knew he sounded harsh and probably sounded like he would take advantage of the boy, but he felt nothing but worry for his mate.

"That's not what I'm worried about though. I don't want any pups." Roxas's voice was low as he told Axel about his fears. It wasn't easy for him to talk about these kind of things to a man he only met a few days ago, but Roxas felt a certain closeness to Axel that he just couldn't explain. It just felt right. And he knew Axel would do everything in his power to make everything better.

"Heat leads to pups, love. It's just the way things are. We can try things to prevent it but just like with humans, it's not one hundred percent." Axel's eyes were filled with sympathy towards Roxas. He could only imagine the things the blond was going through.

"How about condoms?" Roxas piped up. But at the look of confusion he got from Axel, he looked back down at the ground. "Or not," He mumbled.

Axel hummed in contentment as he thought about the future pups he would have with his adorable mate. It may not happen anytime soon but that didn't stop the redhead from fantasizing about it. "Well let's leave that for when the time comes. For now, let's work on you feeling better so we can get back home. How does that sound?"

Roxas nuzzled his face into Axel stomach. He could feel his nausea calming down. He'd be ready to leave now but didn't want to leave the man he'd have to call his mate. Axel was just so warm and comforting.

"Give me ten minutes and we can go."

Hands threaded through golden fur and Axel leaned back against the tree as he made himself more comfortable. A small break would do some good for his bum leg anyway. The two sat in silence. The only noise came from the river only a few feet away from their resting place.

Sorry if this was a bit short. But guess what's gonna happen in the next chapter? That's right, Cloud and Roxas will be reunited! That was meant to be in this chapter but that would've made this chapter come out a lot later.


	12. Reunion

Jade eyes slowly opened and swept across the landscape. A yawn escaped Axel's mouth as he stretched to pop his joints back into place. Axel looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was at its highest peak. When did I fall asleep? He mused as he ruffled his hair in a sad attempt to get leaves and twigs out of it. A grunt came from the half asleep blond wolf who was laying his head on Axel's thighs.

"Will you stop?" Roxas growled as he was awakened by his mate. Roxas stood up and let out a quiet moan at the feeling of all the tension leaving his legs. He pressed his cold, wet nose to Axel's cheek, gave the redhead a small lick before pulling away and meandered towards the stream that wasn't too far away.

Axel's eyes widened at his suddenly affectionate mate before he followed the blond's lead. The water was clear blue and untainted by the human town that was close by. Roxas lapped at the water, trying to get the stale taste out of his dry mouth, his golden tail swinging behind him in contentment.

Once done, Roxas turned to look back at Axel. "Can you lend me your shirt?" The abrupt question made Axel stop in his tracks and give the blond a questioning look. "I don't want to be like this anymore," Roxas explained. He had been in his wolf form for almost half a day and that didn't sit well with him.

"You sure you want my shirt and not my pants?" Axel said in a husky voice with a perverted grin plastered on his face.

Roxas looked back with a semi-shocked expression on his face. It hadn't occurred to him that his lower half of his body would be exposed to the predator near him. He shifted and looked down at his reflection. He didn't want to walk back to the burrow like he was but changing would mean being half naked. With one look at Axel's condition, Roxas knew it would be a lot better for the redhead if Roxas was in his human form to help him better.

"Are you wearing underwear?" The blond said in a meek voice.

A perverted grin spread across the injured man's face as he leered down at the wolf. "Aw and why does my little Roxy want to know that?" Axel taunted the boy with a couple shallow pelvic thrust. But that seemed to be a bit too much movement for the redhead. He hissed in pain and had to lean against the tree to take some pressure off of his throbbing leg.

In a blink of an eye, Roxas was next to Axel his big blue eyes filled with worry. "Axel! Are you alright?" Roxas nudged his mate's hip with his nose to get the redhead's attention.

Axel nodded his head and took a couple deep breaths through his nose like he could exhale the pain out. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. And I also have underwear on. Why does it matter?"

"I was trying to figure out how I could shift without flashing you and every other creature here," Roxas huffed; he would've crossed his arms if they weren't supporting half his weight.

Axel chuckled and leaned against the tree so he wouldn't put too much of his weight on his bad leg as he undid the button and zipper of his pants and slid the fabric off. Roxas looked away and he knew there'd be a blush across his face if he was in his human form. Once the pants were free from Axel's legs, the redhead tossed them towards the shy wolf at his side.

"Umm...Can you…" Roxas trailed off and nodded his head off to the side trying to get his point across.

A bark of laughter left Axel. "Hey I'm injured! Plus I had to walk all the way out here to find you. Can't you give a guy a break and give him a nice little show?" Axel gave Roxas the best puppy-dog look he could muster. Roxas felt his heart rate pick up at the look. Axel's narrow, stern face softened and the blond could only imagine that's what the man had looked like when he was a young boy trying to get away with something.

Roxas looked into Axel's bright green eyes for a moment before sighing in defeat. The man had already seen him in all his glory once; how would this one little moment change anything?

An uneven breath left the blond wolf as he readied himself. He felt adrenalin pump through his veins as the fur disappeared and his spine straighten out. Soon Roxas's fingers lengthened out of his newly formed hands just as his toes and feet reformed. It didn't take long for Roxas to shift back into his human form.

The whole time Axel's eyes didn't leave Roxas's changing form. He gave catcalled once Roxas was back in his human form; small hands quickly went down to cover himself from green prying eyes.

Roxas looked down at the discarded pants and back towards Axel with pleading eyes. "Okay, I changed in front of you. Can you look away now?" Roxas's voice was just as tense as his posture.

Axel winced at his frigid mate's tone. His sensitive nose told him that the boy would be coming into his first Heat soon but, with how shy and prudish he was, the redhead feared that when the time came Roxas would be too uncomfortable to do anything, raising the risk of another Lycanthrope finding the innocent blond before Axel could claim him as his own.

Axel reached his hand out, beckoning Roxas towards him. "Can I try something to make you more comfortable with me?"

Roxas took a tentative step closer to the redhead. His mind was racing with thoughts about the injured man in front of him. Could he really trust him? He still felt like Axel had tricked him into becoming his mate. Though, he did feel a connection towards him, like something was pulling them together.

Once Roxas was in reach, Axel grabbed the boy by his wrist and pulled the nude blond towards him. Roxas squawked in protest as he slammed into Axel's chest. Long arms wrapped around Roxas's waist, trapping the blond.

"A-axel!" Roxas yelped. He thrashed his body weight back and forth. "Let me go!"

The arms around his waist tightened, making Roxas still and look up into fiery green eyes. "Calm down. I'm trying to help." Axel's voice was quiet and steady as he tried to calm his mate down. He rested his head on Roxas's shoulder and just breathed in the blond's scent. "Just breathe."

Roxas closed his eyes and did. His face nuzzled into wild red spikes and his senses were filled with Axel. Some part of him wanted to pull away and slap the redhead for taking advantage of him in his naked state; the other part of him, the new side of him that he was still trying to figure out, liked the contact and didn't want Axel to stop.

"This okay?" Axel whispered into Roxas's ear, his hot breath tickling the hair on the back of Roxas's neck.

The blond bit the inside of his cheek, still fighting with himself over if this was wrong or not. After fighting with himself for a few moments before he gave into his instincts and relaxed in Axel's hold, soaking up everything about the man. From his spicy scent to his warm body that was lulling the young boy to sleep.

A snap in the distance startled Roxas and he pushed himself away from Axel. He reached for the pants and shimmied his legs and thin hips in them. A deep blush dusted his cheeks as he looked up at the redhead who was trying to hold in a laugh.

"You okay there Roxas?" He grinned down at the smaller male. "You looked like you were about to have a heart attack. It's probably just a small animal. I doubt they'll care that much if you're naked. I know I don't," Axel growled the last part as he grabbed his mate once again.

"I think I heard something!"

Roxas squeaked as he heard a voice not too far from their location. He wiggled out of Axel's grasp just as two men stepped out of the thickest part of the forest.

"Cloud?" Roxas's voice was quiet as he took in the sight of his older brother storming through the greenery followed by a pissed off looking brunet. The blond's head perked up at the sound of his name.

Cloud's shoulders dropped in relief and a strange noise that sounded like a cry of happiness erupted from his throat as he ran up to Roxas and the boy was pulled into a hug.

"Holy shit! Roxas! Why the hell are you here?" Cloud asked as he pulled away from his younger brother to look him over. "Umm…those aren't your pants. And where the hell is your shirt?"

A cough brought Cloud's attention to the forgotten redhead leaning against a tree. "Hello!" He greeted with a tilt of his head. "Name's Axel. Those are my pants by the way." Axel flashed the taller blond a blinding smile.

"And why the fuck are you here?" Cloud glared over Roxas's shoulder at the redhead. He took in Axel's appearance and his lack of pants. He slowly connected the dots. A naked Roxas was wearing a strangers pants.

"You fucking bastard!" The blond lunged past his brother and towards the injured man. He was inches away when someone grabbed him by the wrist and he was pulled back and into a strong, sturdy chest.

Roxas ran past the brunet holding his brother and wedged himself between the two and his mate; his arms spread out like it would help him defend Axel from his pissed off brother. "Cloud, you're jumping to conclusions. Let me explain!"

Squall's grasp on Cloud loosened when he felt the blond's tense muscles relax. Cloud studied his brother; he couldn't put his figure on it but over the past couple of days something changed about Roxas. He had a wild look in his eye that Cloud knew was never there before.

Cloud squared his shoulders, trying to give himself more authority over Roxas. "Well, explain."

"Can I cut in for just a moment?" Axel asked. "We really need to go pick up my sister and go home, so if you don't mind, we'll be leaving." Axel pushed off the tree he was leaning on and started to limp away from the small group. "Roxas, I need a bit of help." Axel turned his head so he could pout at his mate.

An irritated sigh left Roxas as he rolled his eyes in Axel's direction before trotting over to his mate and pulling the man's arm around his shoulders to help take some weight off Axel's busted leg.

"Roxas, where do you think you're going?" Cloud growled when he caught up to the couple, his eyes glaring daggers at Axel. "And you never answered my question. Why are you in the middle of nowhere with my brother…and not wearing your pants for that matter?"

"Umm…Cloud, really, I'll explain when we get home." Roxas said from under Axel's arm. The height difference between them was a bit too much for Roxas's small frame and he was struggling to help keep Axel up. The weight was suddenly lifted from his shoulders as the stranger took on the job of helping Axel. "Thank you. Sorry I don't know you're name."

"Squall. I live in a tree near the edge of the forest."

"Oh." Roxas didn't know what to make of the man but chose to brush it off. There were a lot of weird things in these woods; he couldn't let every little thing freak him out.

"Roxas." Cloud grabbed Roxas by his upper arm and pulled the smaller boy towards him. "What the fuck aren't you telling me?" The oldest Jecht son was getting irritated about his questions getting dodged.

Roxas looked over towards Axel as the man was dragged away by Squall. He worried his bottom lip for a few moments, trying to think of how to tell his brother about everything that's happened and try to get him out of the dangerous forest. "Axel… Axel's someone special to me. I can't leave him and come back home." He looked away from his mate and up at his brother. "There's more to it, and it's really complicated, but Cloud, I can never come home. I'm sorry."

After that, Roxas refused to talk to his brother till they made it to the outskirts of Fran's home. Squall set Axel down on a fallen down, moldy log without hurting the redhead before sitting next to him. Both were tired from the long journey from the river.

A howl was heard by the group. Axel and Roxas both perked up and turned their attention towards the noise while Squall and Cloud looked startled. They sent each other worried glances, ready to run. Axel tried to stand and go greet the howling wolf but was pushed down by Roxas, who walked towards the howl with Cloud hot on his heels.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Cloud grabbed his brother to stop him from going towards the noise. "That was a wolf! A fucking wolf, Roxas! Are you out of your mind?"

Roxas pulled out of his brother's grasp and sent his brother a nervous look. "Promise not to freak out?"

"Promise not to freak out? Roxas, you didn't turn into some save-the-animals hippie that thinks they can connect with the wild or something did you?" Behind Cloud's joking manner, Roxas could tell the older blond was really worried about him and he couldn't help the dull ache in his chest when he thought about what he was doing to his family.

"Roxy!" A little girl called out to the blond. Roxas turned just in time to catch Kairi in his arms and hold the redhead close.

"Hey Kairi! I have someone I want you to meet. This is Cloud, he's my brother."

Kairi looked at the taller blond and hid her face in Roxas's chest. Cloud looked down at the duo in awe. Why was there a little girl in the middle of nowhere? "Hey Kairi, nice to meet you." The man's tone softened to almost a whisper as he tried to coax the girl out Roxas's chest.

Roxas stroked the girl's shoulder length wine colored hair as she looked up at the taller blond. Her wide blue eyes studied the man, judging him like he was a piece of meat. Cloud never thought he would feel so intimidated by his sister's doppelganger.

Once Roxas was sure the girl was comfortable around his brother, he handed Kairi over to Cloud. "Can you take her to Axel for me? I'll be right back, okay?" Roxas took in one last glance at his uncomfortable brother, fighting back a laugh at Cloud's disheveled state, before turning and running back to Fran's burrow.

The moment Roxas reached the burrow, he sprinted to where he'd left his clothes and shed Axel's pants in favor of his own boxers and jeans then pulled his shirt over his head. Once dressed, Roxas wandered around looking for the Viera tell her they were leaving. But no matter where he looked, he couldn't find her; then he heard voices coming from the forest on the other side of the clearing.

Roxas crept towards the voices till he was able to peek around a tree and spotted the Viera talking to a man. Blue eyes widened as he took in the man's appearance. He knew him.

The man suddenly closed his eyes and took in a deep breath like he was sniffing something out before his sharp green eyes moved off of Fran and landed on Roxas.

"And what do you think you're doing here, Roxas Jecht?"


	13. Plans

Roxas froze in his spot as his science teacher greeted him. Mr. Vexen, the coldest hearted man in all of Twilight Town was standing at the edge of Fran's clearing talking to the woman. He wasn't dressed in his normal white doctor coat and plain black outfit; instead he wore a loose pair of ratty blue jeans and a dirty white shirt. He had one of his fake smiles that didn't quite reach his eyes as he looked over his former student.

"I could ask you the same thing." The smaller blond snarled at the old man. He sent a panicked look to the Viera, wanting to ask her what the man was doing there. He took a few steps back to put some distance between him and his teacher

Fran placed a hand on Vexen's chest to stop him from pursuing the young wolf. "Vexen was just here to pick up some potions and elixirs for the pack," The woman explained. She gave a curious glance around the clearing before confusion struck her. "Kairi was playing around here somewhere. And Axel was out looking for you."

"Axel and Kairi? You know those mutts?" The older man growled at Roxas. His hands scrunched up into fists as he glared at Roxas.

The young wolf backed up more but ignored Vexen, his attention going back to Fran. "Axel has Kairi. I just came to tell you we're going to get going. Sorry for intruding on anything." Roxas bolted back to the small group waiting on him.

To make sure Vexen wasn't fallowing him, Roxas kept looking over his shoulder and made a few false turns here and there. It took him ten minutes longer than it should have to get back to the group. He was out of breath and was shaking a bit from the shock. His mind was racing with questions. Why was Vexen there? How did he know Axel and Kairi?

"Roxas? What's wrong?" Axel asked as his mate came back into view. The blond was pale and looked spooked; it didn't sit well with the dominate redhead. He stood up, hobbled his way over to Roxas and draped himself across the short boy's figure. Axel could tell something wasn't right. He tilted his head up and took a giant whiff.

The hairs on the back of Axel's neck stood up and a growl left the man's lips. Cloud jolted at the noise and pulled his brother out from under Axel. The taller man would have fallen flat on his face if Squall hadn't caught him.

"What the hell was that?" Cloud seethed as he glared at Axel. His strong arms wrapped around his baby brother.

Kairi trotted towards the burrow and smelled the air a bit. Her reaction was similar to Axel's, startling the eldest Jecht child again.

"We have to leave. Now." Axel ordered as he pushed himself away from Squall and leaned against a tree. He snapped a thick branch to make it into a cane. He started to make his way away from the group with Kairi close by. When he noticed no one else was following him, he barked back at them. "Vexen cannot find us. Now let's get moving!"

"Axel," Roxas called out to his mate making the redhead freeze mid-step. He looked over his shoulder to show Roxas he was listening. "How do you know Vexen?" The boy pulled out of Cloud's grasp and walked over to Axel, placing a hand on the man's arm. "He mentioned you and Kairi when he saw me."

Axel looked a bit stunned for a moment, ready to say something when he shook his head. "He was in the pack Kairi and I were cast out of. He's a loyal follower of Xemnas and will do anything to please him. Now we need to move now!" He barked back at Cloud and Squall.

The Nymph heeded the red Lycanthrope's word, grabbed Cloud by his arm and dragged the blond away from Fran's burrow. The human tried to shake Squall's grip off of him but the brunet was too strong.

"Hey asshole, let go!" Cloud yelped as he was dragged behind the ragtag group. He was just here to take Roxas home; it shouldn't have been this difficult. He had a nifty Tree Nymph for a guide and a good amount of knives on him in case anything attacked. But he didn't put into account his brother not wanting to come home, or the odd redheads he was acquainted with. Nothing was adding up for Cloud and he felt like he was getting dragged into something he should stay far away from.

Roxas bit his lower lip as he looked up at his mate. Axel was walking at a moderate pace but he was wobbly and his gate was uneven. The blond was worried that Axel would trip and end up hurting himself more. Plus everyone else looked tired. Kairi had climbed up Squall's broad shoulders and was taking a nap on his back. By this point, Roxas had decided they power walked a good mile tugged on the taller male's shirt till he stopped. "I think we can take a break here."

Axel looked like he was about to protest but after taking a look around he noticed everyone was either tired, pissed, or a combination of both. Now that he stopped, the redhead also took note that his leg was screaming in pain. Maybe he did push them a bit too far and over reacted a tad bit. He sighed and leaned against a tree to take some weight off his leg. "Yeah, good idea," Axel chuckled and pulled the small teen into his chest. "What would I do without you?"

"Probably wind up in a ditch or hanging over someone's mantel," Roxas joked back.

"Now wait a goddam minute!" Cloud yelled as he ripped his arm out of Squall's hand and stormed over to the couple and yanked Roxas away. "You are going to tell me what's going on right now. Everyone at home is running around sick looking for you, and here you are playing around with some freaks!" Cloud spun around so he could pin his brother to a tree, ignoring the growl that came from Axel. "Now you're going to tell me what the hell's going on and you're going to tell me now."

The smaller blond looked past his brother and towards his mate. Axel was glaring daggers into Cloud's back and his teeth were bared at the older blond. With a defeated sigh, Roxas looked back to his brother. "It's a long story, and I promise I'll tell you everything. But can we get back to the den first?" Roxas pushed his brother away so he had enough room and walked back to Axel. "How much longer till we get home?"

Axel felt his heart skip a beat. That was the first time Roxas referred to the den as his home. The red Lycanthrope hoped this meant his mate was warming up to him and the idea of not being human anymore. With a large, toothy smile Axel leaned down and kissed Roxas full on the lips, making sure Clod saw everything. When he pulled away, Axel couldn't help but feel pride from the blush that spread across the smaller man's face and the dumbstruck look from his brother. "Soon. If we start moving now we can get there before noon."

When Axel went to push off the tree, a grunt of pain passed his lips. A sharp pain pulsed up and down the man's leg as he moved. Maybe he pushed himself just a bit too much earlier. Roxas placed his hands on Axel's sides in a feeble attempt to steady him, but the boy was too weak to support Axel's weight. Both of them would have fallen on their asses if Squall wasn't quick in handing the still sleeping Kairi to Cloud and rushing over to the couple to help Roxas grab onto Axel.

Without a word, the Nymph turned around and knelt down in front of Axel. "Get on." His tone left no room for argument. Axel looked embarrassed. It was emasculating, having to resort to being carried, but did as he was bided.

Cloud manhandled the girl in his arms as gently as possible so she wouldn't wake up, and got her on his back so he could walk without jostling her too much. Once everyone was comfortable, the group started moving again towards Axel and Roxas's den.

~X~x~X~x~

Once Vexen was done doing his business with the forest healer, he changed into his wolf form, slung the bag of potions and clothing over his neck, and sprinted back up towards his pack's dens. By the time he got there he was out of breath, a man his age shouldn't be running so much. The sun was high in the sky by this point

"My Alpha!" Vexen panted as he approached a large silver wolf with glowing amber eyes that was lying across a large rock. The white-blond wolf bowed and flashed his throat in submission at once. "I have news. I went to get the supplies you requested and I found out something strange that can help you with your… pest problem."

That piqued the alpha's interest as he rose from his spot and paced over to the older male. "It better be important." Xemnas growled as he led Vexen towards a more secluded area. Once the pack leader was sure there was no one in sight, he gave the other Lycanthrope his full attention. "What did you find out?"

Vexen gulped the lump that had formed in his throat. "Well sir, it has come to my attention that Axel has taken a mate. And not just any wolf, he took someone from the Outerlands, a student of mine."

"How do you know he has a mate? Did you see them mark each other? Or at least saw them together?" Xemnas asked. His patience was wearing thin. He needed to do something to Reno's son before the menace could get strong enough to overthrow him from his rightful place, or start a pack of his own and start a civil war over the forest. Vexen needed to have his facts straight so they wouldn't misjudge their next move.

The meek wolf shriveled up under the alpha's intense stare. "Well no, I didn't see them together. But Axel's scent was everywhere and the little beast ran towards Roxas when he came near." Vexen explained with a nervous look. "The boy's parents have also been on a frenzy looking for him. Don't you think it's odd that he goes missing only to turn up with a connection to Kairi?"

"Perhaps. But what if it was all just a large misunderstanding? What then?"

"We can send someone to go check. We know where the bastard has made his den." Vexen said, his voice wavering under the pressure of Xemnas's eyes. "If what I say does prove true, than I have a plan I'd like to go over with you." The white-blonde wolf leaned in closer to the pack leader and whispered his plans.

~X~x~X~x~

Not far from Xemnas and Vexen sat Riku. The young Lycanthrope had been close to the two as he was walking back from Xigbar's den to his own. He was tired and felt sticky; babysitting is a very messy business. He ended up staying overnight when Xigbar and Demyx never came back home. Riku didn't want to think about why they never came back.

Riku perked up when herd the older wolves talking and crept over so he was hidden behind a large boulder. He listened to the plan with intense interest. Once Vexen was done talking, Riku took that as his cue to leave. He left, making sure to not disturb any lose rocks or step on any twigs. He didn't need to be caught now. He knew Xemnas couldn't kill him since he was still viewed as a pup to the pack, but that wouldn't stop him from being punished. And he knew the alpha wouldn't hesitate to punish his parents as well.

The silver haired boy walked into his family's den with his head hung low. Zexion and Marluxia were nowhere in sight. Riku's only guess was that they were out hunting. Larxene was sitting on her large bed thumbing through an old book that she probably picked up off of Zexion's bookshelf. Her head snapped up when her son entered and her electric green eyes zeroed in on his downcast face.

"What's wrong sweetie?" She asked in her sickly sweet baby voice. "Were the puppies too much of a handful this time? You know you could have come to me if you needed help." The mother wolf chided. She placed the book down and walked towards her son. Larxene lifted his face so she could look at him. Larxene frowned at the upset look in Riku's aquamarine eyes. "Riku, what happened?" Her voice turned cold as she demanded an answer from him.

Riku swallowed and looked at his mother dead in the eye. "Xemnas is making plans to kill Axel and his new mate," The young boy said in a quiet rush hoping no one else but Larxene had heard him.

Larxene's eyes widened as she took in what her son had said. "Are you sure?" Riku nodded. The woman huffed and looked around the room like the answer to the problem was hidden somewhere in the stone walls. "We have to warn him. Go tell Luxord, he'll help."

"But Mom, Axel's my friend. I should tell him," Riku countered. The redhead could be a hot head when it came to people from the pack, and Riku guessed that Axel either wouldn't listen or attack anyone else who came close to his den.

Larxene glared down at her son with a look that sent chills up and down Riku's spine. The woman could be scary as hell when she wanted to be. "Riku, this is an order. Go tell Luxord to warn Axel. Now!" The last part was barked out, and if Riku was in his wolf form, his ears would be folded back and his tail would be in between his legs.

"Yes ma'am," Riku mumbled before taking leave to find the requested man. He just hoped Axel would listen and protect Roxas with his whole being.


	14. Calm Before the Storm

"Sit. Stay. Good boy!" Roxas cooed as he patted red spikes. The ragtag group was in Kairi's room putting the tired girl to bed. Roxas wanted to talk to his brother in private, hoping the eldest Jecht wouldn't freak out as much if it was just the two of them, but every time he tried to leave the room Axel would follow them out. After the third time this happened, the young blond sighed as he pushed his mate to sit on his sister's bed and gave him the gentle command. The room was filled with mixed reactions from the couple's actions. Cloud just glared at two with angry confusion, and Squall just scoffed at Axel as he held the taller man down by placing his hand on the redhead's shoulder.

Axel pouted as he swiped away the hand in his hair and shrugged off the Tree Nymph. The man rolled his green eyes. "Yes, master. I will obey like the good doggy I am."

Roxas sighed and patted the man's cheek before turning to address the Nymph. "Can you make sure he doesn't leave?" He asked like Axel wasn't even in the room, earning him a glare from his mate. When the brunette nodded in understanding Roxas grabbed his brother by the hand and lead him out of Kairi's room and into his and Axel's.

Once the wood door closed behind them Cloud rounded on Roxas. "Okay, spill it. What the fuck is going on?" He cornered the smaller boy up against the wall, using his height and strength to intimidate his brother. His bright blue eyes bore into Roxas's darker ones.

Roxas gave a hard shove to gain some room so he could walk around his brother and sat on the bed. "I met Axel on the edge of the forest a couple of days ago. And we just, I don't know, clicked or something. He asked me to come with him and so I did," The blond panted as he finished spewing his explanation out in one breath. He looked up at his brother and tried to gage his reaction.

Cloud's glare intensified as he looked down at his brother. "So you're telling me you left your friends and family for some guy you just met? Roxas, what the fuck is wrong with you!?" The eldest Jecht son scolded. His hands were fisted on his hips and his whole body just screamed his fury.

"It's not like that Cloud!" Roxas cried back. Tears were starting to form in the younger blond's eyes as the guilt of leaving everyone without a second thought weighed down his heart. Did he really cause that much of a disturbance in his family's life by leaving? He wasn't anything special there; he was a screw up. The brother that couldn't accomplish anything. The brother that always came out second or third, never first. "He just promised me things I wanted."

Cloud perked a blond eyebrow. "And what is it that you want?"

"Somewhere to belong," Roxas whispered, his eyes downcast.

Cloud's posture stiffened. "Somewhere to belong? For god's sake Roxas, you knew the man for a moment. You've known us your whole life. You belong with us!" The older blond could feel his anger boiling. His mother was on the verge of a break down, Sora was worried out of his mind, and Naminé was trapped in an ignorant bliss, all because Roxas left them for some random man. "You belong at home, with warm meals and a roof over your head. Not whatever you can catch and an underground lair out here!" Cloud waved his hand around to prove his point.

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" Roxas demanded. His glare was just as stubborn and venomous as his brother's. "I may not have known Axel that long, but I know we just click and he likes me way more than anyone in Twilight Town. I'm not going home and there's nothing you can say or do that will change my mind!" The young blond's mind was set. He may have been upset and confused about the change when it first happened, but the more time he spent with Axel, the more Roxas knew he wanted to be with the man.

A loud slap echoed throughout the room as Cloud pulled his hand back from Roxas's cheek. A bright red and painful mark was glowing on Roxas's face. An angry face glowered down as a shocked Roxas cupped his aching jaw.

~X~x~X~x~

Axel's downcast head perked up when he heard the sound of skin on skin. With quick reflexes, the redhead evaded Squall's grabbing hands and ran out of his little sister's room. With a loud bang, Axel slammed his bedroom door open to see tear well up in his mate's eyes and Cloud tense with his right arm held post-strike.

Without a second thought, Axel lunged at Cloud. The blond dodged the attack and swung his fist around and was just about to land the hit when a blond blur ran in front of him. The momentum was too strong and Cloud couldn't stop his hit, all he could do was close his eyes and hope his brother would get out of the way.

Cloud's fist stopped mid-air by a harsh pull, sending the man to the ground. Angry blue eyes turned towards the person who had pulled him and saw stormy grey glaring down at him. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, you stupid flower?" Cloud growled up at Squall. He was relieved that his punch didn't hit Roxas, but at the same time he wished it did. Why would he protect the redhead?

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The Tree Nymph echoed back with venom in his voice. "First you hit Roxas then go after an injured man. Will you calm down and listen for one minute?" The brunette growled out. Tree Nymphs were known as peaceful creatures who didn't get involved in fights, but Squall refused to sit back and watch this.

Roxas turned his back on his brother to face Axel. "Are you okay? What were you thinking? I told you to stay in Kairi's room!" The blond huffed his annoyance and crossed his arms. "I had this. Now go away and let me finish talking to him. Besides, you're hurt. What the hell were you thinking when you attacked my brother?" Roxas growled.

"He hit you! I heard it from the other room. And I'm not going to sit around and listen to my mate get abused!" Axel growled back with his acid green eyes were glued on Cloud. He smirked to himself as he saw the other man on the ground with Squall towering over him. A smug smile overcame the redhead from the sight.

"His what now?" Cloud barked over to the couple. He was trying to push himself back to his feet only to be held back by the Tree Nymph who had an iron grip on his upper arm. He didn't know what the two were talking about, but he knew what a mate was and he hoped with all his being he was wrong.

Roxas turned away from Axel so he was facing his brother once again. His big, blue eyes filled with regret and sadness. "Cloud, I'm really sorry, but this is what I wanted to tell you in private." The smaller blond took a calming breath before speaking again. "Axel marked me. I'm his mate now, which means I can't go home. I'm a part of the forest just like him and Kairi. I'm just like them," Roxas explained in a calm voice, hoping it would keep his brother from freaking out.

Cloud looked confused and angry. "Marked you? How did he do that? And you consented to it?" Squall let go of him as he watched the blond's shoulders sag but didn't move away. Cloud stood up and approached his brother, ignored the warning growl that came from Axel, and placed his hands on both of Roxas's shoulders. With quick movements, he pulled down one side of her collar and saw the big purple mark on his little brother's neck. A quiet gasp escaped from in between his lips as he ran his thumb up and down the bruise.

"He was vague about it, but yes I agreed. And I know if I didn't he wouldn't force me. So, I can't come home. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it's going to be." Roxas explained as he grabbed his brother's wrist and pulled his hand away from his neck. "But just remember I love you, Sora, Naminé, Mom and Dad, and everyone else. Can you tell them that? But leave out some things." The boy added on the part with a small laugh. "Tell them I'm safe and I love them. And I know Mom's freaking out right now so can you calm her down and reassure her?"

"Rox-?" Cloud was looking down at his brother with a shock expression. He didn't know what to say. Taking Roxas away from his proclaimed mate didn't sound like an option, but maybe there was another way. "Can't you come back? I'm not saying leave Axel or Kairi since you've already proven that's not going to happen, but maybe they can come to Twilight Town?"

Axel shook his head at the idea in an instant. "We can't. We belong here. Besides, my father tried making peace with the mayor of your town a long time ago, but the head of the town turned him down and threatened war against us if he ever caught us in his territory again."

"My grandfather is the head of the town," Roxas said with a confused tone as he turned to look at Axel. "He would never do that."

Before anyone could add any more to the subject, a loud, long howl came from above ground. The hair on the back of Roxas's neck stood on end. He didn't want to find out who was up there. From what he gathered so far he could tell Axel wasn't a very well liked Lycanthrope. Roxas hoped with all his being that whoever was up there was a friend and not a foe.

"Roxas, you and Cloud stay down here and keep an eye on Kairi. Squall, do you mind coming with me to see who's here?" Axel commanded the group as he opened his bedroom door. The Nymph agreed and started to follow the redhead out, but Roxas didn't seem so keen on his orders. He tried to walk past Axel but was pulled back by his belt loops. "And where do you think you're going?"

"I want to go and-"

"No. You'll sit and stay like the good doggy you are," Axel said in a tone that told Roxas he was being serious and to not fight him on the matter. Roxas backed up with his head bowed in submission, making a cocky grin spread across Axel's face. "Good boy." Axel and Squall walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.

For a few minutes, Cloud and Roxas stood around in an awkward silence.

"Do you love Axel?"

Roxas looked his brother up and down as he tried to see if the man had been replaced with a clone or something in the few short minutes of them being alone. "It's too soon to say. But I know I feel something for him. When I first laid eyes on Axel, I knew he meant something to me and that he'd be involved in my life somehow. I just never thought it'd be like this."

When Roxas was done speaking, Cloud hummed low in his throat. "That's all I needed to know."

And then the brothers were shrouded in silence once again. Roxas sat down on the large bed and leaned back on the palms of his hands so he was looking up at the celling. He hoped if he was quiet enough he would be able to hear Axel and whoever was up there. But there was too much dense earth between them that he couldn't hear a thing.

With a frustrated sigh, Roxas jumped up from his bed and stormed over to the door. He had enough of not knowing what was going on. He was going to go see who was there. Cloud didn't try to stop him. In fact the eldest Jecht was hot on his heels as they climbed up the stairs.

The two hid behind a large boulder that Axel had kept to hide the trap door into the den and peeked around to see Axel and Squall standing at the mouth of the cave and a large, golden wolf. The stranger was sitting down and looking at Axel with is tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. He yipped a few times while looking at Axel as if the two were in the middle of a conversation.

"We used to be hunting partners. You know you can trust me." Roxas heard the man say.

Axel looked unsure of himself as he gnawed at his lower lip in thought. "I know we were, but what does that have to do with now? If you're lying, I could be running blind into a trap." The redhead tried to reason his side. He took a few breaths to calm his nerves and his poster stiffened. Green eyes looked to the side as Axel turned his head to see behind him. "I thought I told you to not leave the room." His voice came out with a slight growl as he eyed the boulder Roxas and Cloud were squatting behind.

Roxas stepped out first with a guilty look. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't sit around. I needed to see what was up." The blond eyed the stranger up and down before speaking again. "An old friend of yours?"

"You can say that." The stranger barked. "I'm Luxord. Pleasure to meet you. Can I presume you're Axel's mate?"

Before Roxas could answer Luxord, Cloud appeared out of his hiding spot and glared at the wolf. "What the fuck is this? Why is there a wolf here?" He crossed his arms over his chest as he eyed the wild animal like it would attack him at a drop of a hat.

"Why is there a human here? This isn't a good idea Axel. What were you thinking bringing one of that kind into our territory? It's dangerous," Luxord stated with an irritated tone. The golden wolf got up and walked closer to the mouth of the cave, making Axel spread his arms out like a barricade.

"Don't you get any fucking closer or I swear to god I won't hesitate to kill you." The redhead said with a sneer.''

With defeated sigh, the wolf took a step back with his ears back. "My apologies. I just wanted to check the human out. I didn't mean to push any boundaries. I just came to relay Riku's message and to see an old comrade."

"Riku?" Roxas spoke up. He stepped forward so he was in between Axel and Squall. "You know Riku?"

"Wait, wait, wait." Cloud said. "You can understand him? How the fuck can you do that?" The tall blond pulled his brother back, wanting answers.

"I-I can." Roxas stuttered. "I already told you, I'm like them. So I can understand them in that form."

"That form?"

"The man doesn't even know what's going on? Seriously Axel. What the hell?" Luxord spoke up. "Maybe you should show him? I know it's not my place, but maybe it'll help him understand." He pointed his black nose at Roxas. "He's your brother, is he not? So Riku wasn't lying to me when he said you were spirited away. And your brother came looking for you?"

"Ah yes, you're right about all of that. But do you think it'll work? I mean he isn't being that cooperative so I'm afraid he'll have a heart attack," Roxas said while scratching the back of his neck as he thought about it. Maybe showing Cloud he wasn't human anymore would help get his point across. But then again, Roxas wasn't too fond of changing forms or even admitting to himself that he was a Lycanthrope.

"What is he right about? And are you talking about me?" Cloud asked. He was starting to get pissed off from only knowing half of the conversation. He was on the verge of punching something to get his frustrations out.

Squall finally spoke up. "If it makes you feel any better, I can't understand the Lycanthrope either." The Nymph took a step to the side so he wasn't blocking the entrance anymore and could lean against the wall of the cave. "But I don't think he means any harm. If he meant to hurt us, he would have done it by now." Cloud just glared at Squall like he was a moron before sighing and letting go of his brother to lean next to the brunette.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Axel's eyes shifted from Luxord to Cloud and Squall for a moment before turning to face Roxas. "So, what do you think? Should you show Cloud?"

"I guess. I mean it won't hurt anything." Roxas sounded defeated. With a forced stance, the blond marched towards the back of the cave so he was hidden in the shadows and slipped behind the boulder. He was quick to shed his clothing and prepare his body for the transformation. As he felt his body contort to his wolf form, Roxas couldn't help but note how it was getting less and less painful to shift. Like his body was accepting either forms or something.

Once he was done, Roxas padded his way back towards the mouth of the cave. All eyes were on him as he approached them. Three out of the four didn't seem too fazed by it, but Cloud's eyes were wide in shock and his arms fell to is sides. "Roxas?" He asked in disbelief. The blond pushed off the wall and walked towards Roxas. He circled the wolf a couple of times before walking towards the back of the cave just to see if it was some sick trick. When he found nothing but the pile of his brother's discarded clothes, Cloud went back to the wolf and knelt down in front of it. "So you really can't come home?" The wolf shook its head with its eyes downcast in sadness.

"Roxas," Axel spoke up. "Luxord came to tell us that Vexen knows your family. He and Xemnas are going to go after your twin. But he's also a part of that pack so I don't know how much we can trust him." The redhead sat down on the ground to take weight off of his injured leg. His green eyes looked over at his mate. "He's your brother so what do you want to do?"

The wolf looked from Axel to his brother, nudged his hand and cocked his head to the side, like he was trying to tell him something with his body language. Cloud seemed to understand and stood up. "I'll go back and make sure nothing happens to Sora. If it is a trap than they hopefully won't do anything to me since they would be going after you, right?" The eldest Jecht didn't sound as sure of his plan as he kept talking.

"Maybe you need someone who knows the forest and the creatures so you won't do anything stupid and end up dead." Squall said with a raised eyebrow.

"He's right you know. Can you ask Squall to keep an eye on my family, or do you think it would be too much of a bother?" Roxas asked Axel with a whine. He was worried about his family and how his selfishness had put them in danger. If anything were to happen to them, Roxas didn't know if he could live with himself.

Axel relayed the message to Squall and Cloud as delicately as possible. He didn't need the oldest blond freaking out over something minor again. When he finished Cloud didn't look so sure, but Squall just shrugged his shoulders. "Sure. If it means a human not dying in here again I'll do it." And before the human could say anymore on the matter, the Tree Nymph started to walk out of the den and towards the edge of the clearing where he waited for Cloud to finish up his goodbyes with his brother.

Cloud didn't know how to interact with his brother while he was in his wolf form. So instead of doing a proper goodbye like he wanted to, he just rubbed the boy's head like one would do to an ordinary house dog and walked away as fast as he could so he wouldn't snatch his brother up and run away like he wanted to.

Once the two were out of sight, Roxas let out a breath he had been holding in and laid down with his head in between his paws. He was relieved to know Cloud wasn't fighting him on staying anymore and that he could stay with Axel. At the same time, he knew he would still be on edge till he knew what was going on with his family.

"Hey Rox." Axel called. "This may sound way out of place, but how's your back feeling?"

Roxas cocked his head to the side as he thought about the question. "It hasn't been bothering me at all. Why?"

"I think he means to tell you that your body is done developing. You are starting to get a bit of a smell on you, boy." Luxord cut in as he paced the clearing. It was faint but he could smell the Heat and was trying to control himself.

Axel growled at the golden wolf's comment. He didn't like the reaction Luxord was having to his mate's scent. "Maybe you should go." The redhead said in a low, threatening tone. He even puffed his chest out a bit to make himself look more intimidating.

"Right, right. I get it." Luxord huffed as he turned tail and fled the area, not wanting to be near when the young boy went into his Heat. He needed to get back to the pack before Xemnas noticed him missing and questioned his whereabouts.

Once Luxord was gone, Axel stood up and hobbled over to the den's hidden door. "Come on, Roxas. I need to tell you something." The redhead called as he descended down the stairs with his mate close behind.


	15. Heat

When they got back to their room, Roxas changed back to his human form and quickly dressed in lose fitting pants and an overly large shirt while Axel changed into clothes to sleep in as well. Roxas went to give a quick check to see if Kairi was still asleep Roxas went into his room where Axel was patiently waiting. Roxas quietly closed the door behind him and shuffled up to Axel with his head bowed and posture slacked. Axel frowned at how upset his mate looked and held out his arms so he could wrap them around the blond and protect him from whatever was bothering him. Roxas didn't make a move to go into the redhead's embrace, so Axel took it upon himself to grab the boy by his wrists and pull him onto the bed and into his chest. Roxas squirmed around for a moment before relaxing and placing his head against Axel's chest so he could hear the man's heartbeat.

"What's the matter?" Axel quietly asked in hopes of not startling Roxas. His hands ran up and down Roxas's back, trying to comfort the blond, "Is it because of Vexen? Or do you miss Cloud?"

Roxas tilted his head so he was looking up at Axel, his big, blue eyes filled with worry, "It's none of that; though I wish I could go home and make sure everyone is okay. But I was just thinking about what you and Luxord were talking about, how I was starting me Heat. I just don't feel any different besides my back pains going away. And-" Roxas faltered he didn't know how to finish his thought. How could he tell Axel that he didn't want to mate with him yet? They've only known each other for a couple of days. Even if Roxas felt like he's always known the redhead, it was just too soon.

"You're worried about your Heat aren't you?" Axel asked as one of his hands traveled up to brush some stray hairs out of Roxas's face, "I'm sorry Roxas, but if we don't get it taken care of others will come and I'm afraid of what would happen if to you if I wasn't around. And if I was around I don't think I'd be able to hold myself back." Roxas's blue eyes widened at Axel's confession. Axel sensed his mate's distress and pulled his face down so he could meet soft lips in a gentle kiss, "I promise, when the time comes I'll be a gentle, and I'll only do whatever you're comfortable with."

Roxas numbly nodded his head as he processed Axel's words. He mused with the idea that if he did go into his Heat soon that it would be better with Axel rather than with someone else. With a defeated sigh Roxas came to the conclusion that Axel was right and when the time did come he would have to submit to the redhead. Roxas looked up at hi mate with a more relaxed look and kissed the male on the cheek, "Thank you for being so patient and understanding my feelings." Roxas pulled away from Axel and traced the man's face with a soft caress. Roxas's brow frowned as he traced the dark purple marks on Axel's cheek bones, "What are these?"

Axel laughed as he took Roxas's hands off of him and laid down on the bed, dragging his mate down with him, "Well," He said once the two were in a comfortable position, "They're tattoos I got done after my parents died. When Kairi and I were driven out of the pack from Xemnas's fear we stayed with Fran. I was still a pup at the time and I was being stupid and rebellious so I went to a witch and had her mark me with these. One for my mother and the other for my father." Axel explained as he reached up to grabbed Roxas's hand off of his face. He brought the small limb down to his lips and kissed each knuckle.

"Do you regret them?" Roxas whispered. A faint blush spread across his face from the intimate atmosphere.

"Hmm…not really. Now common, it's been a long day. Let's get some sleep. I'll wake up early and catch a nice sized buck since you'll probably be hungry." Roxas's blush intensified at that. He hadn't eaten all day, but he just couldn't get is appetite back.

Instead of worrying about it Roxas just nodded his head in agreement and let his eyes close. He felt Axel wrap an arm around him and shift around a bit till they were laying at the head of the bed instead of awkwardly laying off the side. Blankets were kicked up from under them and snuggly wrapped around Roxas.

"Goodnight Roxas." Axel mumbled as he buried his face in blond locks and smelled his mate's intoxicating scent. He could smell the beginnings of Roxas's Heat and he tried to keep certain body parts under control so he wouldn't scare and upset the teen. He hoped the blond wouldn't push him away when the time came.

"G'night Axel."

~X~x~X~x~

It was hot. Roxas laid on his back and stared up at the dark ceiling. His face was flush and his eyes were slightly glassy. He'd been up for a good hour but the stupid heat had been keeping him up. A thin layer of sweat was over his body, and he was panting. Axel slept on his side, his back facing Roxas. The redhead was blissfully unaware or effected by the blistering temperature.

With a frustrated huff Roxas flung his shirt off his torso and pulled his pants off so he was laying around in just his boxers. A frustrated whine left the boy's lips as he curled up in a ball and held his legs to his chest. He took some deep, calming breaths but they didn't help at all.

A tingling sensation started to spread throughout the young boy's body, setting his nerves on fire and his nether regions to stir. Without much thought Roxas slowly uncurled himself and slid one hand around his torso, making sure to give each nub on his chest a bit of attention. White teeth bared down on pink lips as Roxas tried to quiet a moan that threatened to tear from his throat. The hand slowly crept farther down until it reached the hem of Roxas's boxers.

Roxas played with the elastic and looked over his shoulder to see if Axel was still asleep. Blue eyes couldn't seem to pull away from the strong, muscular back and fire red hair. The man smelt like spice and something Roxas couldn't put his finger on. Melon maybe? The two scents should have clashed but Roxas couldn't help but be drawn to it.

A deft hand dove behind the thin cloth and Roxas loudly gasped at the contact. His free hand quickly grabbed onto the sheet under him and his legs jerked. Roxas was so caught up in his own pleasure that he didn't notice his leg knock into his sleeping mate. His hand had a mind of its own and Roxas couldn't stop. Even when he heard Axel grunt from being hit.

Axel groaned as he was stirred from his slumber. He leaned up on an elbow while rubbing one of his eyes. With a yawn he asked in a drowsy voice, "Roxas, what's wrong?" When he got no answer, he figured the blond was just an active sleeper. That was until he took a whiff of the arousing aroma in the air, "Roxas are you-" His question was interrupted but a lustful moan, "Roxas?" The groggy man asked again as he rolled over and got an eye full of his panting mate.

The sight and smell of Roxas set Axel off, but before he could reach for the blond, Roxas grabbed Axel by his bicep and tugged the older man close enough to attack his mouth with his. Without parting Roxas managed to roll Axel onto his back so he could straddle his slightly wide hips and started to rut his hips against the redhead's.

"Rox-Roxas! Slow down!" Axel managed to choke out around his moans. His hands grabbed Roxas's moving hips to still the boy which helped him gain some sense back. When his head cleared a bit he rolled Roxas off of him and pinned the frustrated boy under him, "Roxas, you need to snap out of this before we both lose control and something you don't want happens!"

Clouded blue eyes cleared a bit as Roxas gazed up at Axel, "I feel strange." Roxas mumbled. He squirmed around in Axel's grasp and tried to rub his legs together to add friction to his aching lower half but the relief wasn't enough, "Help me. Make it go away."

That's all Axel needed to hear and with a feral growl the dominate male attacked the submissive's throat, making sure to mark the blond as his and paying special attention to the permanent bruise he had already left from the other day. Each nip brought another moan from Roxas as he tilted his head to the side as far as he could to give Axel more room to work. Axel took advantage of Roxas's naked torso and tweaked his pink nipples with nimble fingers. That seemed to be too much for the blond and Roxas started to buck his hips up, rubbing his clothed length against Axel's clothed stomach. With a startled yelp Roxas tensed up for a moment as blinding spots danced in front of his eyes. An uncomfortable wet feeling filled Roxas's underwear, snapping him out of his blind lust.

Roxas stilled for a moment to catch his breath. His eyes seemed to focus a bit more as he caught his breath, "Axel," He managed to huff out, "M scared." Tears started to prickle at the corners of blue eyes, "I don't know what to do."

Axel leaned down and kissed the tears away and released the boy's hands, "Shh…Its okay. Everything will be fine. I'll take care of you." He stroked Roxas's bangs out of his face so he could look down at the boy with nothing in the way.

"No pups. Please. I'm not ready." Roxas shook his head as he thought about pregnancy and all the stories his mother had told him about how hard hers was when she was carrying him and Sora. That and how he wasn't used to his new life yet. How could he deal with another major change like pups as well?

Axel looked down on his mate with sympathy. He could feel his heart split in two, half of him was hoping to start a family as soon as he could with his beautiful mate, but he knew he couldn't go against Roxas's wishes, especially on something as important as this if he ever wanted to win the boy's love and trust, "No pups. I promise you no pups. I'll make sure not to finish in you so nothing will happen. I promise." Axel leaned down so his forehead was touching Roxas's and he gently rubbed their noses together in an affectionate gesture.

Roxas whimpered at the thought of what was about to happen but he could feel his cock start to harden again. He needed skin on skin, but Axel was still fully dressed. Small hands grabbed at Axel's back as Roxas tried to lift the fabric off of the redhead. Axel chuckled at Roxas's antics. He lifted off of the blond –earning a disappointed whine from Roxas- so he could strip off his shirt and start to undo the tie that was holding his pants up.

"No, I want to." Roxas shyly mumbled as he sat up and reached for Axel's crotch. He hesitated for a moment and looked up at Axel. He couldn't believe this was happening. His palms were sweating and he didn't know if it was his nerves or if the heat swelling throughout his body. A quick swipe to the blanket fixed that problem and Roxas went back to his task of helping Axel undress. Timid hands went back to Axel's pants. He had a hard time with untying the tight knot Axel had made.

Once Roxas was successful with taking the knot apart he pushed down Axel's pants and boxers freeing the man's erection. Roxas felt his mouth go dry as he looked at the member that was at least two times the size as his. The faint thought of it fitting or hurting him was clouded but a new burst of lust over powered him and those problems didn't seem to matter to him anymore. With no hesitation Roxas gave the length a light tug making Axel gasp and grab onto Roxas's shoulders.

"Calm down and lay back down for me." Roxas nodded his head and did as he was told. Axel looked down at his mate and could tell the boy was nervous. He smiled down at Roxas and caressed his face and left his hand on his cheek to keep his head in place, "Hey, I love you." Axel said in a confident tone to get his point across to Roxas's hazy mind. He knew the blond was going crazy with lust and the pheromones he was letting off was driving the redhead mad. But Axel knew he'd have to keep his head clear so he wouldn't lose Roxas's trust after.

Large hands trailed down Roxas's body making sure to tweak perk nipples for a moment before continuing their way down to the boy's soiled boxers and tossing them to a corner of the room. Roxas gasped as his lower regains were freed to the cold air. He threw his head back and whimpered in need, "Please?" He moaned under his breath.

"Fuck." Axel growled as he looked down at his needy mate. He could tell Roxas didn't want to pussyfoot around anymore. After giving his cock a few pumps Axel lined it up to Roxas's twitching entrance. The Heat meant penetration would be easy since it made Roxas's body was already stretched and lubed to accept his mate's length.

Axel didn't stop until he was all the way in. Roxas gasped at first, but the farther Axel sank into him the needier and more high pitched his moans got. Blunt fingernails dug into Axel's back as Roxas tried to adjust to the throbbing length inside of him. It didn't hurt but it felt strange and new.

Axel was having a hard time not moving. The way Roxas was squeezing around him and how warm he was made it hard for Axel to not move. His neck gave out and Axel had to rest his head on Roxas's clavicle. He bit around the blond's neck and chest leaving little love marks.

Roxas moaned and bucked his hips up into Axel's trying to get him to move. His hands moved till they were tangled in thick, red strands. He tugged on them till Axel lifted his head and they could look at each other in the eye. They could both tell that the other wanted more. Very slowly Axel started to rock back and forth. He tried to keep the pacing slow but Roxas's cries got louder and he started to beg for more. Not needing anymore encouragement Axel started to quicken his pace. He grabbed Roxas by the back of his thighs and pushed them up so the blond was practically folded in half.

The new possession made it easier for Axel to move faster and by the noises Roxas was making he could tell he was hitting his prostate. Roxas's eyes rolled to the back of his head and hand trailed down till he grasped his leaking dick. The sight was mouthwatering to Axel and the man had to check himself to make sure he wasn't drooling. He knew Roxas was going to cum soon from how he seemed to be getting tighter and tighter around Axel's member.

"Ah…Axel! Axel!" Roxas screamed at the top of his lungs as white streams shot out and covered his chest and stomach. His body turned into jelly and the blond seemed to just melt into the bed.

Axel was overwhelmed. From the sight of his mate relaxing in the afterglow of his orgasm, the pheromones he was still emitting, and the tight head that kept squeezing. It took only a few moth thrusts from Axel till he reached his end. After the first stream of cum left him did Axel come to his senses and remembered to pull out of his mate, leaving a white trail all over Roxas's lower body.

Axel slumped down so he was laying on Roxas. The blond didn't seem to mind the extra weight on him and just wrapped his arms around the other's waist in a tight hug. The two stayed in their awkward cuddle for a few moments just basking in the afterglow and trying to catch their breaths. Roxas was the first to recover. He pushed Axel off of him till the redhead was lying next to him.

"Did we just…?" Roxas couldn't finish his question, even if it was rhetorical. He could feel his face heat up with embarrassment at the thought of the act he just committed, "And…and you. You said you loved me. Do you really feel that way?"

Roxas expected Axel to blush but the redhead sat up and stared at Roxas's face, his green eyes unwavering, "Roxas Jecht, I am in love with you. I have been since the moment I saw you in the Outerlands when you were talking to your friends. I knew you were my soul mate and I will stop at nothing till you see we are meant to be. I'll do anything for you." As he talked, Axel framed Roxas's face with his hands and gave the speechless boy a peck on the lips.

The sounds of birds chirping overhead told the two that the sun was up and a new day had begun. Kairi would be up and wanting her breakfast soon, much to Roxas's fatigue demise. The blond slumped back in bed and groaned. He didn't want to get up. He'd struggled with the unbearable Heat for a good amount of the night and after his and Axel's activities he was even more tired and his backside was starting to ache.

"If you'd do anything for me, can I just lay in bed all day and recover?" Roxas half joked. He threw an arm over his eyes like he was blocking out the sun as if it was streaming from some imaginary window and onto his face. He groaned at the sticky feeling of sweat drying on his forehead and made a mental note to take a shower some point soon.

Axel just chuckled and pecked Roxas's lips one more time, "As you wish." When he pulled away, Axel got off the bed and gathered things for a quick shower so he wouldn't reek of sex for the rest of the day. Then he'd go catch a feast for his sister and mate. A large smile graced the man's face as he looked over his shoulder and saw Roxas had fallen asleep.


	16. Afterglow

A low rumble woke Roxas up. Groggy blue eyes looked up at the rock ceiling as thoughts of that night and early morning rushed back to Roxas. Then something hit him. It was so small and insignificant that Roxas shouldn't have remembered it. The teen sat up so fast that he got light headed for a moment, but after shaking the dizzy feeling off the blond was able to get off the bed (with only a little bit of pain in his lower back), grabbed Axel's pair of lose fitting pants off the floor, and trotted to the bathroom. Axel and Kairi must have been above ground since there was no one in the halls or any sound coming from any of the rooms.

Once in the bathroom Roxas shimmied out of his pants and hopped into the shower. It surprised him a bit when hot water came out of the shower head instead of cold, Roxas made a mental note to ask Axel about how there was hot water, or how there was proper running water and a flushable toilet down here in general. Pushing the thoughts aside Roxas grabbed a red scrubbing poof that was on the shower ledge and a bottle of flower scented liquid soap and began to lather himself up, making sure to put some extra work into getting all of the dried up perspiration and other fluids.

A deep blush spread across Roxas's face when he reached his sore behind. He could feel the dried leftovers of Axel's cum slip out of his ass. It wasn't much but Roxas couldn't help but remember that one time in health class the teacher was going over the basics of safe sex. She had gone in explicit detail about how if the male didn't have a condom and the girl wasn't on the pill or have a diaphragm, you should just forget about getting it on. Pulling out had just as much chance of impregnation than just cumming inside. But Axel did promise that nothing would come from their little activities from last night.

With a heavy sigh Roxas quickly finished his shower and dressed. He needed to go talk to Axel as quickly as he could, eager to find Axel and get his questions answered. It surprised Roxas when he made his way above ground and saw the sun setting. He couldn't have possible been asleep all day could he?

"Roxy!" Kairi yelled as she ran towards Roxas and wrapped her little arms around his waist she looked up at Roxas with her big blue eyes, "Big Brother told me not to bother you today since you're probably not feeling well. But you're up! I was getting worried. Are you hungry? Big Brother just caught a fox. He said we had to wait for you a'cus you deserve the first bite since you didn't eat yesterday." The little girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. She had been worried all day that something bad had happened to her new brother.

Roxas chuckled and leaned down to give Kairi a small peck on the cheek, "Well I feel honored that you were worried over my sake. Where's Axel? I need to talk to him." The blond poked Kairi in between the eyes, making the girl giggle and flinch away.

"He's over there." Kairi pointed towards a small oleander tree that was just starting to bloom pink flowers and was surrounded by green pine trees and other trees that were starting to lose their green leaves from the changing season. Axel stood a bit behind it and was just pulling up his pants from transforming back into his human form. When electric green eyes landed on Roxas they seemed to light up even more and the half-naked man couldn't help but smile at his mate.

Roxas felt his heart speed up as flashes from the night before flashed through his head. A familiar tingle went down his spine as Roxas felt himself get turned on. But he shouldn't since what they did last night should have cleared up any signs of his Heat. But he pushed aside his feelings of lust and approached Axel.

"Hey lazy bum. Finally decided to join the world of the living?" The redhead laughed as he pulled Roxas into a hug, smothering the teen's face into his bare chest. When he pulled the blond away from him he leaned down and pulled Roxas into a passionate kiss, "How do you feel?"

Roxas felt a blush creep across his face but he tried to ignore it and hope it wasn't noticeable to Axel, "I'm a bit sore." The blond's voice came out in a breathless whisper like Axel had quite literally stolen his breath away.

"Yeah? Well I'll have to be more careful next time." The redhead said with a wink that made Roxas's even more flustered.

"And who says there's going to be a next time?" Roxas countered with a huff and hands on his hips. He wished he could be mad at that comment but instead he found himself feeling excited.

Axel just chuckled and pulled Roxas back to him while taking a few steps away from the clearing, "Hey Kai!" He called out. When the girl called back the redhead replied, "I need you to do me a favor. Can you go find a toy or something and play by yourself for a few minutes? I need to show Roxas something I found by the river!" Kairi yelled back an okay but Axel waited a moment to make sure she wasn't near them before dragging Roxas farther into the woods till they found a tree with a hallow in it.

The taller Lycanthrope slid into the small space and pulled Roxas in with him so the blond's back was pressed against his chest. Roxas struggled against his mate's hold for a moment, scared about what was happening and why Axel would drag him away so unexpectedly.

"It's okay, calm down." Axel cooed into Roxas's ear as he rubbed the teen's sides in a comforting manner. Once Roxas settled down and relaxed into Axel's chest the redhead explained what was going on, "Your pheromones are still going crazy. I'm sorry I just need to touch you a bit." After apologizing Axel started to nip and suck at Roxas's neck turning the blond into a blob of goo in his lap. Once Roxas was nice and sedated and making cute mewing noises, Axel moved his hands downward to kneed at a bulge in the blonds pants that was slowly getting bigger.

Roxas turned his head so he was nuzzling Axel's neck, "More." He managed to choke out. One of his hands came up to grab onto Axel's shirt but when he only found bare skin he whined and pawed at Axel's chest.

Axel just chuckled as he worked on opening up Roxas's pants. It was taking longer than Roxas would have liked and he started thrusting his hips into Axel's working hands, making the redhead's job of getting Roxas's pants off harder. But one Roxas's pants were open Axel wasted no time in pulling the blond's pants and underwear down to mid-thigh.

Roxas's hard erection sprang up and the teen couldn't help but moan into Axel's neck. The redhead grabbed the stiff member and started to pump it up and down. A steady stream of precum leaked out of the head and Axel used that to help his hand move faster. It took all of Axel's resistance to not jump the boy right there. From the smells that flooded the little hallow to how Roxas was moaning and clinging to him was making everything so much harder for Axel.

"Axel…I cahhn't." Roxas bit at Axel's neck in a moment of passion as he released all over Axel's hand. The redhead kept pumping Roxas till everything was out. With hazed over blue eyes watching his every move, Axel brought his hand up to his mouth and made a show of cleaning the white mess off of his hand and fingers. Roxas groaned at the sight as he rested his head on Axel's shoulder, "Stop that. We need to get back to Kairi before she finds us." Roxas said as he pulled his clothes back into place.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Don't want her to catch you with your pants around your ankles and start asking questions. She's way too young for the birds and bees talk." Axel laughed as he pushed passed Roxas out of the hole so he could help pull the blond to his feet.

While the two walked back to Kari Axel laced his fingers with Roxas's and playfully swung their joined hands back and forth, a large smile plastered on his face as he watched their hands. This didn't go unnoticed to Roxas. The blond squeezed the other's fingers and participated in swinging their hands.

"So I was wondering, how is it you have indoor plumbing here? And a heater for hot water?" Roxas asked as they made it to the edge of the clearing and by their meal, which Kairi decided to take a couple of bites out of.

"It was like this when I got here along with a journal but I have no idea what it says." Axel said with a shrug, "The rooms and everything were all carved in. It was a lucky find on my part, only had to chase out a couple of rodents." He sat down next to the nibbled on fox and pulled Roxas down with him, "I didn't really understand plumbing or any of that beforehand so it took some adjusting to. You like it right?"

"I do." Roxas said with a large smile. Then he took in Axel's appearance for the first time that day and just realized that his mate wasn't limping and he had shifted earlier to catch their food, "Hey Axel, how are you walking normally?"

Axel looked himself up and down like Roxas had pointed out he had grown a third leg or something, "I took something Fran gave me back when I left her burrow with Kairi. It's meant to jolt your body to help make recovery speed up. But it's rare to find and taken too much can kill you instead of heal. But I needed to hunt for you and Kairi, so…" The redhead let his sentence hang as he guided Roxas over to his kill.

Roxas looked down at the torn up fox and felt bile rise up in the back of his throat but the growl of his stomach made the food look more appetizing. He remembered back at the diner how his grilled cheese didn't have the same taste anymore but a bloody steak tasted like heaven. Maybe all he needed to do was get used to the fact that he just had to eat dead animals.

Axel grabbed something from his pocket which gleamed in the sunlight. Roxas quickly noted it was the switchblade he would usually eat with. The redhead cut some meat away before handing the food and knife to Roxas. Roxas gratefully took the offerings and carefully placed the meat in his mouth hoping he was right about his body adjusting to the new food. He could feel the slimy meat slide down his throat. There was the metallic taste of blood mixed with the rich taste of fox flesh and muscle. It was actually pretty good.

Roxas's stomach let out a fierce growl as it got its first taste of food in two days and the blond let himself go and indulge. Yes he found the thought of eating raw fox right off the bone gross, but the taste was just too good that it made up for it. Axel chuckled at Roxas before standing up and saying something about how Roxas could have it and he was going to catch something for him and Kairi. From the corner of his eye Roxas saw Axel go back to the oleander tree where he had let his shirt, and stripped off his remaining clothes before changing into a wolf and running off to find his next kill. He could hear Kairi laughing in the background, he glanced over and saw her chasing a couple of butterflies around the field.

By the time Roxas had eaten his fill the fox was practically gone. But just in time for Axel to come back with two decent sized hares. He hadn't changed back into his human form and curled up behind Roxas turning himself into the blond's makeshift backrest. Roxas gladly snuggled up to the warmth. Between the soft, cuddly wolf and his full stomach Roxas felt himself slowly drift off to sleep completely brushing off the fact he had only recently woken up.

Axel peered over his shoulder to gaze at his sleeping mate and the sight of the teen cuddling up to his side. He gave the sleeping Lycanthrope an affectionate lick before turning back to his meal. Kairi had wondered over and grabbed one of the hares and started to pick the tuffs of fur off of it, her eyes set on Roxas.

"Big Brother?"

"Hmm?" Axel asked around a mouthful of food.

"Do you think he's gonna stay with us forever?" The girl's voice was filled with melancholy as she pulled some meat off her meal and plopped it in her mouth.

Axel finished the food in his mouth as he thought of his answer, "I hope so Kairi. I really do."


	17. What's Wrong Little Red?

Cloud sighed as he stared at Squall. The Tree Nymph had come into the blond's life about two weeks ago and Cloud had decided the brunette was the most boring thing he had ever had the displeasure of meeting. Sure he wasn't all that fun himself per say, but he could at least keep a conversation going and he would pull the occasional prank or two. Squall on the other hand just sat around and took in nature. Not to mention the big threat Roxas was scared of didn't seem to be happening.

The eldest Jecht sighed as he leaned back into the grass. His hands pillowed under his head as he looked up at the sky. He was currently waiting for Sora to come home from school and quiz him on Vexen's behavior just like he's done every day since he got back from his little adventure in the woods. Sora was a bit wary of his brother's questioning at first but Sora being Sora just shrugged it off and indulged Cloud.

Squall was introduced to the family as a friend that had just moved to town and worked with Cloud. He would come over when Sora came home from school to help with the 'interrogation' and was always invited to stay for dinner. Cloud was getting the sickening feeing that his mother was using Squall to fill the void Roxas had left.

Speaking of Roxas, the cops had waited the required three days to find him. They searched all over town, even the ocean that was a few miles away, but they wouldn't go in the surrounding woods, not even close in fact. All because of some rumors, granted Cloud now knew that they weren't just legends and were in fact all true. But still, the police force should be looking anywhere and everywhere for his little brother.

"If you keep making that face it's going to stick like that." The Nymph said as he tapped Cloud's side with his toe. Over the weeks Squall had adapted his clothing from his earthy colored outfit made from natural fabrics to something more 80's style complete with leather jacket and pants, he even bought boots but he didn't wear them unless he had to.

Cloud grumbled as he rolled away from the assaulting foot, "What's it to you? Leave me alone and hug a tree or something." Blue eyes pierced into grey as if Cloud was daring Squall to keep annoying him. Apparently the Nymph took the challenge to a personal level and he poked Cloud with his bare toes again, forcing the blond to roll away from him again. The two continued to play their little game of kick the Cloud till a new person showed up.

"Hey Cloud. Hi-ya Squall! Um…What are you two doing" Sora asked with his head cocked to the side. By this point Cloud was half way in Yuna's small flower garden with Squall's big toe in his grasp.

Cloud tossed the foot away from him and sat up, "Nothing. How was school today?" The eldest Jecht asked. His blue eyes sending a weary glance towards Squall like he was expecting the Nymph to kick him again.

"Boring as usual. Mr. Vexen wasn't in today which was weird, but the sub was pretty cool and just put a movie on for us to watch." Sora explained with a nonchalant shrug, he knew all Cloud cared about was his old science teacher for some reason. Ever since his twin's disappearance, Sora hadn't been his happy-go-lucky self. He became some watered down, knockoff brand of Sora. Cloud wanted to tell the brunet all about Roxas and the mess he had gotten himself into, but he knew the time wasn't right. Maybe it would never be the right time and a part of Cloud's heart broke at the thought of his little brother never acting the same again.

Naminé had been affected by the whole ordeal too. The blond eight year old had taken to spending more time in her room and keeping to herself. She stopped laughing as much too, which left a sour taste in Cloud's mouth.

"He wasn't in? Isn't that odd?" Squall said as he backed away from the blond. He took to leaning against the side of the house with one foot pressed on the wall and his arms across his chest. His eyes were closed as he thought of where the old Lycanthrope could have gone off too. Maybe back to his den? But that didn't answer why.

Cloud seemed to be caught off guard by Sora's answer too and had a look on his face like someone had slapped him. He slowly stood back up and started to walk in the house as he scratched the back of his head as he tried to think of a reason. Vexen had never called in sick or taken a vacation ever since he had gone to the school. Something was definitely wrong.

Sora on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the fact that his science teacher wasn't in that day, "So Squall, are you staying over for dinner again?"

"If your mother says it's okay. I don't want to impose or anything." The Nymph said.

Cloud rolled his blue eyes and grabbed the taller brunet by the elbow and started to walk towards the house, "Of course she won't mind. Now come on, Mom should be done cooking soon." The blond said with an irritated growl, "You're practically family to her now." He opened the back door and walked into the kitchen with both brunets close behind him.

"Oh, Sora! How was school today?" Yuna asked as she stirred whatever she was cooking on the stove. Her mismatched eyes zeroed in on the three boys with a large smile on her face that Cloud knew was a façade.

Sora grabbed a soda out of the fridge before sitting down and retelling his day to Yuna. Cloud, not really caring about Sora's school day, went to look for his baby sister.

Naminé was sitting in her room with her back facing Cloud. Her shoulders were hunched and her blond hair hung in her face so Cloud couldn't see.

"Hey, what did you get into?" Cloud asked as he tried to look over the small girl's shoulder.

Naminé didn't seem to notice Cloud's entrance and jumped when he spoke. Spooked blue eyes looked over at the older blond. With her quick, small hands Naminé closed a book that was on her lap and stuffed it under her sketch pad, "Cl-Cloud! What are you doing here?"

Cloud just chuckled as he took a seat next to his sister, "I just wanted to check up on you. What were you looking at?" He asked as he reached for the not so well hidden notebook.

A small hand clamped around a large wrist, "No wait!" Naminé cried as she pulled Cloud away from the book. She grabbed the book and held it to her chest in a protective manner, "It's private. I can't show you."

Cloud noticed that the notebook was Roxas's old notebook for his English class. How did Naminé get ahold of it? The eldest Jecht suspected that the little one had snuck down into the basement and grabbed it out of Roxas's things. He wasn't mad at Naminé for doing that, he completely understood the girl was missing her brother and wanted something to make her feel closer to the lost Jecht.

With a light sigh Cloud go up and rubbed the girl's head, "Well just be good. Dinner should be done soon." And with that said, Cloud got up and left the room leaving Naminé to herself.

Blue eyes followed Cloud's retreating figure with a bated breath. Once the boy was out of sight, the girl opened the book and let her eyes fly over the page to find where she had left off.

Once upon a time there was a young boy named Little Red. One day Little Red's mother asked him to deliver some food to his grandmother. Little Red was warned not to wander off the path that lead through the forest to his grandmother's home.

Naminé rolled her eyes at the clichéd story she asked Roxas not to write. So far the story had been like any other retelling of the fairy tale, the only difference was that Little Red went from being a girl to a boy. But the young girl wouldn't let that stop her from reading from the notebook that had found its way into her box of art supplies. She didn't know why but Naminé felt like Roxas had come back just to give it to her. And maybe, just maybe, it was his way of telling her what happened.

While Little Red walked down the same old path he wandered down every week. He couldn't help but feel bored. Every week was the same thing. Go to school, go home, and go deliver groceries to his grandmother. Little Red wasn't even half way down the path when a stranger stepped in his way. He was a tall man, with wild red hair, and a wicked grin. His eyes screamed danger and Little Red couldn't help but be drawn towards them.

"Why hello little one." The man said as he approached Red, "I know a shortcut to where you're going. Come with me." He held out a hand and waited for the boy to take it.

Red looked from the stranger then towards the dirt road that he was accustomed to. A stone felt like it had settled in the pit of his stomach. Should he take a chance and go with the stranger, or take the safe path that he knew would safely take him to his grandmother's home?

"Naminé! Dinner!" Auron yelled up the stairs making the girl jump. She heard the sound of footsteps coming up to come get her. Not wanting anyone to find the book with her special story, Naminé quickly ran towards her art chest and placed the book under her paints and crayons.

Just then the door opened and her dad poked his head through the doorway, "Hey Nami, dinner's done. Common sweetie." Tidus held out his hand for the girl to grab and led her down to the kitchen so the family could enjoy a nice hot meal together.

~X~x~X~x~

"Three…Two…One! Ready or not here I come!" Roxas cried as he pushed off the tree and looked across the abandoned clearing. Both redheads were absent but the teen knew they were close by. He tapped his toe in thought as he tried to think of where the two were hiding at.

Roxas had to quickly raise his hand to his mouth to cover a yawn. Over the past couple of days the blond had found himself getting tired easily, but that may have something to do with Axel trying and failing at teaching him how to hunt.

A giggle to the far left caught Roxas's ear and he quickly turned to see a short girl run from one tree to the next and try to climb it. Roxas pretended he didn't see Kairi as she scrambled up the tree. When she lost her footing and fell down from the lower branch, a wail of pain echoed throughout the forest as Kairi landed. Roxas bolted towards the girl and scooped her up in his arms.

"Shh...It's okay." Roxas cooed as he combed his fingers through the girl's shoulder length hair. With his free hand he quickly patted Kairi down looking for any scrap or bruise she may have gotten. He found a small blemish was on the girl's knee, but other than that, she seemed to have survived the fall without any broken bones, which Roxas was grateful for.

"What happened?" Axel asked as he sat down next to Roxas and took his sister into his lap. He did a double check and breathed out a sigh of relief when he didn't see anything life threatening, "Are you okay Kai?" Axel asked as he brushed tears off of the small girl's cheeks.

Kairi nodded her head as she tried to stop her tears. Tiny hands clung onto Axel as she tried to calm herself down, "My leg hurts Big Brother." The girl muttered as she buried her face in the man's shirt.

"Aww, I'm sorry Kai. Let me see." Axel moved the girl around so he had better access to her injury and place a kiss on it, "There all better. I think you'll live." Axel stood up with Kairi still in his arms, "Roxas can you bandage her up for me so I can go grab us some lunch?"

"Yes. Of course." Roxas said as he sprung up from the ground and grabbed the girl from his mate and balanced her on his hip. As he brought Kairi down to the den, he saw Axel starting to strip from the corner of his eye. He could feel his body heat up from every inch of pale skin that was revealed to him. Roxas quickly squished the feeling down, he had to fix up Kairi's knee and didn't need any more personal time with his mate. Roxas's face flushed as he thought about how over the week long course of his heat, he had done some unspeakable things with Axel. They had been more careful than their first time and both had been more conscious about preventing any unexpected pregnancies.

Roxas went straight for the bathroom and sat the girl down on the toilet. He then rummaged through a cabinet, hoping the creatures of the forest knew how to make peroxide or something. All he found were some jars with names he had never heard of before.

The first one called Elixer. It had a calming yellow color to it. Mako was an unearthly shade of blue and Roxas could have sworn it was radiating pure energy. It was also half full showing it had recently been used. Either and Remedy looked close to the same thing and if they weren't labeled correctly, one might get them mixed up. What were these? "Umm…Kairi, do you know what any of these do?" Roxas meekly asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The redhead girl looked over at the mixes and shrugged. She had never learned how to use herbs and medicines. Fran had promised to show her when she got older in hopes that she would become the next forest healer; but her training hadn't started yet.

"Hmm…maybe just patching it up would work. I mean it's not deep so I don't think it'll get an infection." Roxas dug through the cabinet until he found a pack of gauze and a roll of medical tape. He then grabbed a rag and put it under the warm water. "Okay, come here kiddo." Roxas said as he knelt in front of Kairi and scrubbed her knee to take out any dirt that may have gotten in the cut. Once he was satisfied with his work, he quickly taped on some gauze, "There. All done. Feel better?"

Kairi nodded her head as she kicked her leg around to see if her leg still hurt. It stung but she could deal with it, "A lot. Thanks Roxy." She held her arms out signaling for Roxas to pick her up, "Can we take a nap before Big Brother comes back?"

Fatigue hit Roxas like a pile of rocks. He yawned and nodded his head. Roxas picked up the small girl and carried her to his room. The two laid down and embraced in an innocent cuddle. Roxas wound his arms around Kairi and puller her close. Kairi clung to the blond's shirt and used his bicep as a pillow. It didn't take long for the two to fall into a deep sleep.

~X~x~X~x~

"Roxas wake up." Axel gently said as he shook Roxas by the shoulder. He had recently gotten back from his hunt, and had gotten Kairi up and fed. All there was to do was wake up his mate and get some lunch in his stomach too.

Roxas groaned as he rolled over in an attempt to move away from the annoying hands on him. Axel would have none of that; he knew Roxas needed to get some food in his stomach. With a sigh he sat down next the sleeping teen and rubbed his back, "C'mon wake up. If you sleep any longer you won't go to bed tonight." Axel pleaded. When that didn't work the redhead leaned over his mate so he was looking at Roxas from a sideways angle, "Wake up sleepy head." And he assaulted the blond's face with kisses.

Roxas grunted as he pushed Axel's face away from him, "Fuck off." He muttered as he rolled onto his stomach so Axel couldn't reach his face anymore.

Axel wasn't going to give up. He rearranged himself so he was laying on top of Roxas as he started to nip and nibble on the blond's earlobe, "Get. Up. Now." The man said in between bites. His hands wandered down to Roxas's sides, digging his fingers into the yielding flesh.

Roxas didn't seem to like that and in a flash he had flipped over and pushed Axel so hard the redhead fell off the bed with an 'oof'. He glowered down at the man with dangerous looking eyes and bared teeth, "Never fucking touch me again. Do you hear me? If you ever come near me again, I will tear your face off so fast you won't even know what happened." Small hands grabbed the edge of the bed so tight they turned white, "I don't even love you."

Something broke inside Axel as the last words were said. True Roxas had never said anything about having feelings of love towards him, but the man had hoped that after all that had happened, Roxas would have loved him.

Axel went to get up to leave Roxas alone and give him some time to calm down, but before he could push himself up, a body crashed into him and pushed him back to the ground. Tears stained his shirt as blond spikes rubbed against his cheek.

"I'm sorry Axel." Roxas cried in a watery voice. He sucked back some snot, "I don't not love you." The blond wrapped his legs so they were locked together under Axel's back, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He kept muttering into Axel's chest.

Axel was, at loss for better words, confused. He had woken Roxas up from naps plenty of times and this was a first. He patted Roxas on the back, whispering calming words into the teen's ear. He carefully sat up and after making sure Roxas was clamped firmly around him, stood up so he could place Roxas on the bed. Axel pulled Roxas away from him so he could look down at teary blue eyes, "Hey now, calm down. Take a deep breath in." Roxas did as told, "And out." The whole time Axel kept his hands on Roxas's shoulders to keep the blond in place. Once Roxas had calmed down a bit, Axel pulled him back to his feet, dragged the teen out of the room, and started up the stairs, "Okay its lunch time now."

Roxas didn't fight Axel as he was lead outside and towards a pile of de-furred squirrels. Bile started to rise in the back of Roxas's throat when the smell of the bloody meat hit his nostrils. Blunt fingernails dug into Axel's wrist as the blond tried to escape the man's grip so he could go relive himself from the acid that was starting to bubble on his tongue. Out of relax Axel let go at the bite in his wrist and had enough time to turn around and watch as Roxas ran away with his hand over his mouth.

Axel wanted to go run after his mate but the sounds of him retching hindered the redhead. As much as he wanted to make sure Roxas was okay, Axel didn't want to go near any vomit. Once Roxas was done he walked back to Axel. His complexion was pale and his eyes were lidded. He held his arms were held out in a silent plea for Axel to hold him. Not wanting to have another episode like the one in the bedroom, Axel quickly gathered the teen in his arms and held him close.

"Big Brother, is Roxy okay?" Kairi asked as she tugged on Axel's pants. The worried look on her face didn't seem to ease Axel's anxiety any less. He had a feeling he knew what was wrong. Maybe he should make a trip to see Fran.

"He is. Hey Kairi, how would you feel about going to see Aunty Fran? I think she should check out Roxas." Axel explained as he rubbed Roxas's back, "Do you think you're up for walking or do you want me to carry you?" He asked Roxas. He felt the blond nod against his chest and without a second's hesitation Axel scooped his mate up so he was holding him like a mother would carry her child, "Come on Kairi let's go."


	18. Too Young for This

"Fran!" Axel called as he carried Roxas into the clearing where the Viera lived. The sun was starting to set behind him, but the redhead didn't care since his family was surrounded by aster flowers; the magical plant that was the bane of Heartless. Roxas was still curled up in Axel's chest. He had long ago stopped crying and had just stared blankly off into space, which worried Axel a bit. Kairi clung to Axel's pant leg and had closely followed her brother from their den to Fran's burrow.

The sliver haired woman came up from her burrow. One of her ears was cocked to the side in confusion, "Axel? What's wrong?" She asked as she took in the blond in Axel's arms and the shell shocked Kairi. She approached the family cautiously. Once close she reached out to touch Roxas, but Axel pulled him away and growled at the woman. Fran just frowned at Axel, "You know I won't hurt him. Now calm down and let me see what's wrong." Her voice was sharp and firm as she commanded the Lycanthrope.

Axel flinched from the Viera's tone, "Yes ma'am. Where should I put him?" The redhead asked as he shuffled the upset boy in his arms.

"Down in your old room would be good. He doesn't look so well, I want to give him a full work-up." The woman placed her hand on Axel's shoulder and led the small family down her burrow.

Axel shifted the blond in his arms so it would be easier for him to walk down the steep stairs. Roxas moaned as he buried his face in the crook of Axel's neck. His stomach tossed and turned with every step. He finally sighed in relief as Axel gently placed him down on a soft bed.

"I think I know what's wrong with him." Axel said as he gently rubbed his hand over Roxas's flat stomach.

"Wha-?" Roxas asked as he tried to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Axel's strong hand. He tried to push the hand off of him, but Axel was stronger and managed to hold the blond in place.

Fran seemed to understand what Axel meant as she replaced the redhead's hands with hers. She lightly rubbed around Roxas's stomach and chest area all while gauging Roxas's reactions. The blond withered from the touch, his sensitive skin tingled from the simple touches.

Fran hummed as she gently pressed down on Roxas's abdomen making Roxas cry out in pain. That got Axel's attention. The redhead grabbed the Viera by her hand and pulled her away from his mate, "What are you doing?" He growled so low that it scared everyone, including Kairi who was cowering on the other side of the bed; one hand desperately clutching to one of Roxas's hands.

"I'm just checked for, umm, pregnancy." Fran carefully said as her hands moved around Roxas's midsection a bit more.

The blond froze at the woman's words. His eyes widened in fear as he gaped up at Axel and Fran, "What?" He quietly whispered, "But you promised nothing would happen Axel." Tears started to spill from his crystal blue eyes, "Axel I can't do this!"

"Hey, hey, calm down." Axel cooed as he sat down next to Roxas, his hand replaced Fran's as he felt the hardening abdomen, "I know I promised and I'm sorry. I didn't intend for this to happen. But you can't tell me you're not a bit happy?" The redhead questioned as he petted his mate.

"Roxy is going to have a litter?" Kairi innocently asked as she climbed on the bed as well and felt the blond's stomach, with a joyful laughter, "I get to have a family again!" She cheered.

"N-no!" Roxas yelled as he pushed the two off of him so he could sit up, "I don't want this. I'm too young for this." Roxas pulled his knees up to his chest.

Fran grabbed Kairi and pulled her off of the bed and carried her towards the door, "It's still uncertain if you are or not. I'll go prepare a test for you so we'll be one-hundred percent sure." With that said the woman closed the door behind her, leaving Roxas and Axel alone to discuss their little problem.

Roxas scooted away from his mate, "I don't want this." Axel tried to hold the blond, but was violently pushed away, "No. Don't touch me." Watery blue eyes glared daggers at Axel, "I told you I don't want this. I'm a man for fucks sake! I shouldn't be able to have kids. This is too fucked up!" Roxas buried his head between his legs, "I want to go home."

"We don't even know for sure yet." Axel muttered with a slight bitterness in his tone. He knew Roxas was still adjusting to his new life and he shouldn't take everything his mate says personally, but Roxas sounded like he resented the idea of having Axel's puppies. And the redhead didn't like that at all.

Roxas snapped his head up so he could glare at Axel, "Oh come on. We both know I…I'm-" A broken sob cut the blond off. He covered his mouth with his hand as he openly cried. He wanted to get away. He wanted more than anything to get back home, climb into bed, and pretend this was all just a vivid dream.

Axel knew what Roxas said was true. He had morning sickness, food made him violently sick, His mood swings were nothing to joke with, and he had admitted Axel a couple of times that he felt funny and couldn't figure out what it was.

Fran took that moment to come back into the room with a vile filled with clear liquid and Kairi on her heels, "Okay so this test is pretty straight forward. All you have to do is prick your finger and let the blood fall in. If the liquid turns blue you're expecting. If it turns red then you're not." The Viera produced a sharp pin, "This will hurt for only a moment." She said as she grabbed Roxas's hand and jabbed his finger.

Roxas bit his lip at the prick, but didn't let up until he brought his hand over to the vile and flipped his hand over so the blood would drip down into it. It was a tense minute between the four in the room as the test turned different colors, trying to decide Roxas's fate. The blond held his breath and didn't notice Axel slipping their hands together and giving him a reassuring squeeze. No matter what happened he would stand beside his mate and try to support him thought everything.

Then the array of colors stopped at a solid blue.

A low whimper came from Roxas but was covered up by the loud cheer that from Kairi as she latched herself to the blond, "I can't wait to be an aunty!" She cried as she buried her face in Roxas's stomach, a large smile on her face.

Tears started to flow freely from Roxas's eyes but he couldn't be bothered about it. He felt like his life was over. Only sixteen and was already well on his way to having a cozy little family. This wasn't what he was expecting out of life. Have a family, yes. But when he was much older and done with college and working a steady, well-paying job. Not to mention it wouldn't be his kid since he and his partner would have to adopt.

"Roxy? What's wrong?" Kairi asked as her face got wet from the blond's tears, "Those are happy tears right?" She pulled on Roxas's shirt sleeve to grab his attention.

Axel pried his sister off of his mate and placed the girl on his lap, "Kai, I don't think right now is the right time. Why don't you go outside and play?" The redhead placed Kairi on the ground and nudged her towards the door.

But Kairi wouldn't have any of that. She stood her ground and looked at the weeping blond, "Why are you so upset Roxy?" She demanded, "Mama taught me that babies are a good thing! Don't you want to start a new family with me and Big Brother?" The nine year olds voice sound so hurt and broken, but Roxas was too wrapped up in his own misery that he couldn't be bothered to care, "Roxy?" Kairi demanded as she grabbed onto the blond's arm wanting an answer.

"Kairi. Go outside now." Axel said in a low tone making his little sister flinch away from Roxas. The girl looked up at her brother with big teary eyes, "Now. I'll come get you soon." The redhead demanded with a growl.

With a defeated pout the youngest Lycanthrope quietly left the room. Fran looked at the couple with sad eyes. She knelt by the bed and took Roxas by the hands. Her dark eyes looked into sky blue, "Roxas, I know this is hard, but what's done is done. The only thing you can do is hope the pups are healthy. And there's one more thing you need to decide."

"What would that be?" Roxas asked in a less than pleasant voice. His hands slinked out of Fran's grip and he gingerly felt his midsection as he tried to feel any movement or something to confirm to himself that there was indeed a being (or beings) growing inside of him. He frowned more when he didn't feel anything, but then the thought of how it's only been a couple of weeks so whatever was inside him was probably too small to feel.

"You have two choices. Since you're pregnancy is still early on it's not a big factor, but in a week or so you won't be able to change without hurting the little ones. You can either have a quick pregnancy by staying in your wolf form, or you can have a normal human pregnancy that lasts a good amount longer." The Viera explained as she stood up, "I'll leave you and Axel to talk about it." And with that said the woman left the room to go find Kairi and calm the upset girl down.

The two mates sat in silence for a while, just thinking about what would happen between them. Axel was afraid that after all that has happened and all of his trying to win Roxas over had completely gone down the drain. His eyes studied the ground as his fist clenched at his pants. Maybe if Roxas's heat didn't come so soon they wouldn't have this problem now.

Roxas on the other hand knew his anger was rightfully placed on Axel. It was the redhead's fault he was in this predicament. First because he gave Roxas false information when he agreed to go with him, and then breaking his promise about not knocking the teen up.

The room filled with an awkward silence before Roxas finally broke it, "Why." Was all that was said. His eyes moved from his stomach and towards Axel, "Why me? Was I just something you saw out in town and you just decided you needed to have me?"

"Because you're my mate."

"How did you know? Just from that shock? Because that could have very well been static electricity." Roxas defended with a huff. He didn't want to be here if it was just some stupid fluke. He had his own life to live and a family that was probably going crazy looking for him.

Axel sighed as he leaned back on his hands, he didn't know how to explain it to Roxas, "Come here." Axel said as he tugged Roxas closer to him. Once the blond was by Axel's side the redhead took Roxas's hand and placed it on his chest, "This is how I know." Roxas felt the soft thumping of Axel's heart under his hand, "It beats only for you." The redhead whispered.

Roxas blushed at that. He wanted to be pulled into his mate's embrace and be lulled to sleep by the beating of Axel's heart, but a part of him knew he couldn't do that for one simple reason, "But you didn't even know me. Hell you still don't know me." Roxas pulled his hands away from Axel. The blond then stood up and paced towards the door, "I can just go home. I can just run away and pretend this never happened." It was said mostly to himself, but Axel heard him.

"No you can't." The older Lycanthrope said with his arms crossed. Green eyes dug into the door like if he stared hard enough it would combust and keep Roxas from leaving, "You have a litter inside you. What will you do when you start to get bigger and bigger, and have to give birth?" Axel stood up and grabbed Roxas by the shoulders so the blond had to look at him, "This is what you chose. Now suck it up."

A low whimper escaped from the back of Roxas's throat as he clamped onto the front of Axel's shirt. Hot tears spilt from his eyes and soaked the man's shirt, "I'm scared."

Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas's shoulders and pulled the crying boy into a tight hug. He placed his head on top of blond spikes and breathed in the scent of his mate, "I know you are. So am I. But we really do need to figure out what you want to do about what form you want to stay in."

~x~X~x~X~

Sora sighed in relief as the school bell rang. Science class was done for the day. It was also the last class of the day. As the brunet started to gather his things the old man standing at the front of the room studied the boy with cold eyes, a smirk on his face as he plotted what he was going to do.

Sora swung his backpack over one shoulder and started walking towards the door, completely unaware of the eyes on him. He made it half way down the hall before he caught something from the corner of his eye, "Squall? Is that you?" He asked in disbelief. This was the first time he had seen the man not by his brother's side, "Why are you here?"

The Nymph didn't seem so shocked to see Sora. In fact he came with the intentions of coming to escort the boy home since Cloud was being paranoid but had to work, "I'm trying to get a job and Cloud said the school was looking for a janitor or something." The man said as Sora walked closer to him.

"Well the office is the other way. Come on I'll bring you." The by smiled as he grabbed Squall by the elbow and dragged him off in the right direction.

What the two brunets didn't notice was the science teacher standing outside of this door watching them. He snarled as the scent of Squall caught his nose. Foliage and dirt. The man frowned as he realized that his mission had been compromised by that blasted Nymph. He would have to take care of him if he wanted to get to his pray before Xemnas lost his patients.


	19. Tall Tail Pt1

Roxas stared blankly at the wall in front of him. It had been three days the big announcement and he still didn't know how he felt. He still wouldn't let Axel touch him and if the redhead was anywhere near him, Roxas would make sure to glare at him in hopes that the man would leave him alone. At night Roxas would go to bed early just to escape the siblings and Kairi's questions on why he hated them so much. He wasn't sure if Axel came into the room at night and left early, or if he just slept in Kairi's room, and quite frankly he didn't care; he liked not having to see Axel first thing in the morning.

The blond reached under his shirt and gently felt his still flat stomach. Fran had said he could lose the babies if he changed mid-pregnancy. But could he do it? Roxas was very prochoice and felt it was the woman (or in this case, Roxas's) choice to do what she wished with her (his) body. He wouldn't feel bad if he did it. But could he do it? And would his body suffer from any side effects? He should have asked Fran before he had left her home.

The sound of heavy footfalls sounded as someone waked down the stairs. Roxas didn't want to be disturbed, so he quickly hid himself under the blankets to give the illusion of sleep just as the bedroom door squeaked open.

"See I told you. This is all he does. I'm getting worried." That was defiantly Axel.

"He's totally faking. Can't you tell from the breathin' pattern?" A different voice said. The gruff and confident tone sounded familiar to Roxas but he couldn't quite place it.

Roxas felt the bed dip as someone sat next to him. A warm hand rested against his forehead making the blond flinch away, "Come one Roxas, we know you're up." Axel said in annoyed tone as he pulled the blanket off of Roxas revealing a very pissed off looking blond.

Roxas just glared at his mate before his eyes drifted to the other man in the room. At first Roxas didn't recognize him, but that smell definitely belonged to Xigbar. The man had the same black with white stripes hair style like his fur. His missing eye had been covered up by an eye patch. And his one golden eye was filled with a mix of pity, sympathy, and a hint of humor like Roxas was something to laugh at. Bitter memories of the first and only encounter flooded the blond's mind. Xigbar had attacked Axel and was the one who got the redhead to admit that he had bound himself to the blond.

"What are you doing here?" Roxas all but growled in a sad attempt to scare the older man away. He bent his legs up and drew them close to his chest, trying to put as much in between his belly and the threating looking man.

Xigbar held up his hands in defense to show he meant no harm, "Calm down. I'm sorry about how I acted a few weeks ago, but I swear I'm a good guy." He nervously glanced over at Axel like silently asking the redhead if he would intervene if Roxas decided to attack him. When Axel nodded Xigbar continued, "I heard about your problem and I thought I'd come over talk to you."

Roxas glared over at Axel. He felt himself get even angrier at the man. Why would he tell anyone about the pregnancy? Roxas didn't want to keep it. He wanted to get up and leave. What could Xigbar tell him? The man was a seasoned Lycanthrope. There was no way he had ever been through something like this.

But before he could leave Axel clamped down on his forearm, "Please, just hear him out. After you heard the story you can do whatever you want. I want you to have the pups because of my own selfish desire to have a family, but if it's not what you want, then I won't make you. I don't want to see you this upset for the rest of your life. It'll hurt me just as much as it does you." The redhead's voice was sincere making Roxas relax and look over at Xigbar.

"Fine. But after I get to choose what happens next. This is my life and I'll be damned if I stick around here." The blond crossed his arms and scooted away from Axel till his back his the headboard of the bed.

Axel sighed before getting up, "I better go help Demyx with the kids. I still can't believe Xemans believed that you two were taking them out hunting." The redhead mused to himself as he left the room and ascended the stairs to go help his blond friend keep an eye on the pups as well as his little sister.

Once Axel was gone Xigbar took his spot on the bed. He put his hands behind him and leaned back. A long sigh left the man as he looked up at the ceiling and not Roxas, "Where to start?" He said more to himself than Roxas, "Well if you couldn't tell from my age, I was changed. Just like you."

~X~x~X~x~FLASH~BACK~X~x~X~x~

"Xigbar!" A feminine voice called from the kitchen of the small home. The woman had long black hair that was wrapped up in a loose bun and wide brown eyes. One hand was placed on a wide hip while the other held a wooden spoon that was dyed with red sauce, "Dinner's almost done. Put your guns away." The woman called like the man was a child. She turned on her heel and walked back into the kitchen to finish preparing their meal.

Xigbar sighed as he finished polishing his favorite rifle and placed it back on the rack. His face was rid of scars and his missing eye still intact. After the guns had been put away the man walked into the kitchen where he saw his wife finishing up the food. Xigbar wrapped his arms around her waist, "Smells good Tifa." He kissed Tifa on the cheek to grab a plate and start scooping food onto it.

"How was the hunt today?" The woman asked as they sat at the table.

Xigbar cut up his meat before answering, "It was alright. There wasn't much game out since the season's getting colder, but Tseng managed to shoot a buck. He said once it's cleaned and cut up he'd give us some." Tifa hummed as she took a bite of her food. Her body language was tense and she wouldn't make eye contact with Xigbar which worried the man, "Did something happen today?" He carefully asked.

The woman quickly looked up at her husband before looking back at her food. A light blush crossed her face as she quickly said, "I'm pregnant." Her face turned red as she look away and fiddled with her hands.

Xigbar looked up at his wife in shock. He felt his pulse pick up and a smile spread across his face, "Honey that's amazing!" He yelled as he got up from his seat and pulled Tifa into a tight hug, "I can't believe I get to finally be a father." He said as he pulled away from the woman.

Tifa had tears in her eyes as she looked up at her husband, "Good. I was worried for a moment." She confessed as she ran her fingers through Xigbar's shoulder length hair, "I thought you'd be mad since it meant you would have to stop playing with guns in the house. And you'll have to provide more. And I'm going to get really hormonal and flip out on you a lot. And-" Tifa's ranting got cut off as Xigbar kissed her.

When they parted Xigbar placed his hand on his wife's stomach, "So there's something in there? That's so weird." He said with an amazed tone. It felt so surreal for him. He and Tifa had been trying to have a baby for a few years now only for their efforts to be proved fruitless. They had all but given up hope.

Tifa giggled as she put her hand on top of Xigbar's, "Yes there's a little bitty baby in there. Now let's finish eating. I'm starved." The woman said as she pushed Xigbar down in his seat so they could finish their dinner.

The couple sat around the table long after they had finished eating. Just talking about the future and what they would name their baby and what the gender would be. It wasn't till long after the lanterns and candles dimmed that they decided to go to sleep. But when the made it their shared bed neither went to sleep right away as they were too excited to show their love for one another.

~X~x~X~x~

"So you're going to be a dad? Congrats." Said a man with long black hair that was tied back in a ponytail and a birthmark on his forehead that was the in the shape of a perfect circle. Over his shoulder he held his rifle. He and Xigbar were walking through the woods looking for something to kill. It had been a couple of weeks since Xigbar had found out about Tifa's pregnancy but he never had a chance to tell his best friend.

"Yeah, kinda hard to believe." Xigbar agreed as he stopped to pour powder into his own gun, "We've been trying for so long that I can't even believe it. But her temper and cravings have gotten so bad that I know she isn't joking." The golden eyed man cocked his gun and pointed it towards a rabbit, "Games getting thin. Maybe we should gather as much as we can before everything leaves before the first winter hits." He shot at the animal and it went down in an instant. He bagged the rabbit, "There may be more if we go deeper."

Tseng agreed and followed his friend's lead and ventured farther into the woods. The deeper they went the darker and thicker the trees got. I wasn't until they got to a part they have never ventured before that one of them spoke.

"Maybe we should get out of here. I've heard bad things about people who go too far into these parts." Tseng said as he slowly walked behind Xigbar with wide eyes. He felt himself flinch at any little noise, even if it was just him or the other man stepping on a twig. Something didn't feel right, "Can we turn back?"

Golden eyes looked over his shoulder, "We only caught one animal. Just one more then we can go."

The two walked in silence until the sun started to sink in the sky. When the shadows grew too dark and the noises started to intensify did Tseng say something, "We need to go back. There's no animals here and probably for a good reason." The man desperately grabbed onto Xigbar's coat sleeve, "What if the legends are true. We can't be this far in this close to dusk."

Xigbar yanked his arm away from his friend and glared at him, "Those are just tails to tell your kids so they behave and don't wonder off. Wait don't tell me you actually believe in 'em?" The older man scoffed as he shook his head and continued walking, "You can go home if you want. I want to find something more than a rabbit for supper." With that said Xigbar walked away from Tseng.

"I won't come back to collect your bloody corps in the morning!" Tseng called as he watched his friend walk away from him. The last thing he heard was a laugh coming from Xigbar as the man was swallowed up by the trees.

Xigbar made sure he stayed close to the tree trunks as he walked so he wouldn't be in plain view for whatever wildlife he came across would see him. It wasn't until the man found himself close to a river that he knew flowed back into town, so he wasn't lost. And there drinking from the crystal clear water was a doe. Her brown fur practically glowed in the setting sun.

Xigbar quickly readied his rifle and pointed it at the deer. His finger ready on the trigger and he was about to pull it but a large black beast pounced on it. Golden eyes watched in mild horror and fascination as the monster dug its claws into the doe's back as it clamped its powerful jaws in her throat. The way the red blood splattered over the beast's fur coat was almost mesmerizing, and Xigbar couldn't take his eyes off of it.

The great beast had finished its kill and began to feast upon it. A fleeting thought of shooting the monster crossed Xigbar's mind, but it was too late. He stumbled while trying to take aim and snapped a twig, alerting the black monster.

Its blue eyes zeroed in on the poor man and lunged just as the shot of a gun went off.

Xigbar cried out in agony as he felt the hot sensation of his body getting torn open. He felt the beast bite into his neck, and at that moment he knew he was as good as dead. He could feel his body go numb as his body was crushed and torn apart. Before he completely blacked out, Xigbar felt his eye get spired on a large tooth and yanked out.

~X~x~X~x~

"Wha-! Oh no! Papa! Reno! Help!" A loud voice yelled as they knelt beside the mangled body, "You'll be alright. I promise you." The boy wept as he gingerly touched Xigbar's marked neck. He yelped and pulled his hand away as a shock ran through his fingers and up his arm till it reached his heart and making pound in his chest. Sea green eyes widened as they looked down at the unconscious man, his mouth hanging open in shock. "N...no. This can't be." He muttered to himself as he franticly looked around to see if the help he had called for had come yet.

Two wolves, once black and one red, came running towards the sitting blond to see what the commotion was. The black one bumped the boy's chin with its muzzle as it tried to calm him down, "Shh…It's okay. We'll fix him up. Reno does he look like anyone?"

The red wolf sniffed the unconscious body, "No. He doesn't smell like any of the Lycanthropes I've come across. Maybe a new pack decided to settle in the woods." Blue eyes looked over to the boy, "Demyx, what's wrong? He'll live. He just needs medical attention now. Can you help move him to my back so I can carry him?" Demyx numbly nodded his head as he gently moved the broken body onto the now laying down wolf's back. Once Xigbar was safely secured Reno stood up and looked back at the other two, "I'll go head and make sure he gets help. You two finish finding food. See you back at the dens Noctis!" And with that said the red wolf ran away, being careful not to jostle the man too much.

When he was out of sight Noctis looked over at Demyx, "Why are you crying? He'll be fine, you heard Reno." The wolf went back to nuzzling his child, "What's wrong?"

Watery eyes looked into dry blue eyes, "He shocked me." Demyx wailed again, "I don't want my mate to die." He clung onto the thick fur and buried his face in it, inhaling the familiar scent of his father.

Noctis's eyes widened at what his son had said, "Are you sure? And just because there was something there doesn't mean that he'll accept you. Don't get your hopes up just for a stranger." The black wolf nudged Demyx till he finally stood up, "Now let's go hunt. Hurry up and change." The alpha ordered.

~X~x~X~x~

Xigbar groaned as he tried to move his arm but found it hurt too much. His whole body felt like lead. He tried to open his eyes but everything just came out blurry. Then there was this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. It told him there was more people in the room, but they smelt funny; which was weird to Xigbar since he's never noticed the smell of other people or if their smell was even off. But some part of him screamed 'That person isn't human! Get away!' Xigbar tried to listen to that little voice in his head, but his aching and broken body wouldn't listen to him and move.

"H-hey don't do…do that." The not-person said as they gently pressed down on his chest to stop him from moving too much, "There. I should go tell Papa you're awake." And with that Xigbar heard a bit of shuffling and then silence.

Xigbar opened his eye and wanted to shut it just from the strain. Everything was blurry to the point that he couldn't make out what he was looking at. He also noted that everything seemed to be a bit off like on eye was covered. Ignoring his body's protests, the man lifted his arm and reached up and felt his face with almost numb fingertips. There was cloth. Lots and lots of cloth. It covered most of his face and only his one right eye and mouth were exposed. What the fuck had happened?

Just then he smelt more than heard three people enter wherever he was. The smell of the original person was back but it seemed to be dwarfed to the other ones. Xigbar tried to sit up and see who they were but only saw a hand reach over and push him back down, "I wouldn't move if I were you. You were pretty beat up when we found you. I'm actually surprised you made it through the past couple of days, seeing as how you were out with the Heartless for the first night."

"Reno!" A new voice scolded, "Can you not talk like that? We have other issues to discuss." The man leaned over so he was in Xigbar's line of vision. He had shaggy black hair that fell in his dark blue eyes and seemed to fly everywhere. He seemed to look down at Xigbar like he was some science experiment gone wrong, "Who are you and why were you in our territory?" He demanded with a scowl.

Xigbar frowned right back, "What do you mean your territory? I was only out hunting to get food for my wife and friend when a monster attacked me!" He tried to sit up again but was again pushed back down by the blond.

"Wife?" The blond, who looked to be about nineteen to Xigbar, asked. He had tears in his eyes as he looked down at the ground, "I thought that…" His voice trailed off and his hands balled into fists. He looked so upset and disturbed, but Xigbar couldn't understand why.

"Yes…that's what people do when they reach a certain age, they get married and have kids. You're probably too young to understand though." Xigbar explained as he looked at the blond. Why did the boy seem so turn up about him having a wife? It made no sense.

"I'm not old!" The boy interjected, "I'm almost fully grown! I won't be a pup by the end of the year." His eyes left the ground and looked straight into Xigbar's. The man felt his breath catch at the intense color. There were such a strange shade of blue. They had specks of green in them and on top of it they seemed to be glowing. Now that he took a closer look, all three sets of eyes seemed to glow.

"Where the fuck am I?" Xigbar demanded as he forced himself to sit up. The bond gasped at the sudden movement. He reached out and tried to put the older man back on his back, but Xigbar just pushed him away, "What happened to me? Where am I? And who the fuck are you?" He quickly asked as he felt his head get light headed. He looked down and saw bandages wrapped around his chest start to turn red.

"You need to calm down." The redhead said, "Lets start with introductions! I'm Reno. That's our leader Noctis," He pointed at the raven haired man, "And that's his son Demyx. Now who are you?" the redhead crossed his arms and leered at Xigbar, showing his distrust.

Xigbar glared back at the man, "I don't give a fuck about who the hell you are. Just tell me how to get home." He growled out.

"You're in my territory and I can't help you with how to get back home. We're the only Lycanthrope pack on this side of the woods, and I've already asked my mate and he said you're not from his old pack." Noctis explained.

"Wait, back up. What's a Lycanthrope?" The injured man asked as he leaned back against the wall to give his back a rest. What this man was saying made no sense. Pack? Lycanthrope? These people were obviously insane.

Demyx looked between his father and Xigbar a few times before saying, "That's what you are. Does your pack call them something else?"

"I'm not in a pack like some wild animal." Xigbar lowly said, "I'm from a town with normal people. Now I want to go back and see my wife, so if you'll so kindly point me in the right direction."

"Oh dear." Reno shook his head, "I feared this would happen. It seems our friend here wondered too far from home and that stupid stray marked him." Light blue eyes looked at Xigbar with a bit of humor, "You can't go home now."


	20. Tall Tail Pt2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is the last of Abandoned. Be on the look out for the rewrite that should be out as soon as I'm done outlining. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience. I feel really bad about this

"Then what happened?" Roxas asked with wide eyes. During Xigbar's tale Roxas had found himself wanting to know more and more. The older man had such a sad story behind his scars and gruffness. It made Roxas realize how lucky he was that Axel had approached him with such tenderness and actually asked him permission, even though Roxas was still mad that his mate hadn't told him everything.

Xigbar laughed through his nose, "What more is there to tell? I was forced into this life and leave my family and friends behind." The older man moved off the bed and sat of the floor so he could lean his head back on the mattress. His one gold eye looked up at Roxas, "I envy you kid."

Roxas felt himself blush from the man's intense gaze, "Th-thanks." He mumbled before saying, "What happened to Tifa and your baby? How did Demyx become your mate? And what of the stray that changed you?" As he spoke, the blond he moved from his spot on top of the bed till he was sitting on the edge of the bed with his legs crossed in front of him.

"Ah fine I'll continue, but you have to agree to be nicer to Axel. I had to help raise that little bastard and I'd hate to see him cry."

Roxas was taken aback by that. He knew Axel was around thirty, so how old did that make Xigbar? His curiosity finally got the best of him. The blond agreed to Xigbar's terms and said he would try harder to get along with Axel. Once the older man was satisfied he continued his story.

~X~x~X~x~FLASH~BACK~X~x~X~x~

Xigbar was well taken care of and was told everything of what happened and slowly accepted the fact that the legends that where whispered around town were true. He longed to go home but it seemed the men he was staying with seemed to sense that and took turns taking watch over him.

And it seemed that blasted blond with the freaky mohawk had taken it upon himself to take on the bulk of the responsibility. He would stay in Xigbar's room and talk to the man about what life was like in the woods, and ask him questions about his old life, mostly what his wife was like. It annoyed the fuck out of Xigbar, but he was too weak with the depression knowing he would never go home and see his wife and the child they had tried so hard to make to tell Demyx off. It just wasn't fair!

Within a week Xigbar got to know everyone in the small pack. There was the leader, Noctis. He was mated to a man named Prompto, a blond with nurturing skills like no other but quick to anger. They had two children together (something Xigbar couldn't wrap his mind around but at the same time he really didn't care). Lexaeus, a strongly built man with cropped, copper hair and dangerous blue eyes. And Demyx. Then there was Noctis's second in command, Reno.

And now there was Xigbar.

The man couldn't even leave the tiny room until two weeks had gone by. By that point the large gashes on his torso had healed to the point where they didn't rip open anytime he moved, the laceration on his face was starting to heal over into a scar; and Xigbar soon found out that the bandage over his eye wasn't to heal it, but to cover an empty socket.

When he was finally able to lift himself out of bed and get his legs working enough to walk, Xigbar found that the room he had been staying was embodied in the side of a cave. As he left the dark room, he noticed that he was in the middle of rocky slopes which looked as if they would be a nuisance to climb when he was ready to escape whatever hell hole he got himself into.

"Xiiiigbaaar!" Someone yelled as they tackled his back, almost making the weak man fall over, "Mama said you're healed enough to change. Want to walk around the forest a bit with me?" It was explained in full to Xigbar what had happened to him. He was attacked by a monster known as a Lycanthrope, and by some miracle he didn't die. No instead he was forced to live all eternity with the curse of being a wolf hybrid and never being able to go back to his family. At first Xigbar didn't want to accept it as truth and lashed out at Demyx screaming threats, only to be pinned down by Noctis and Reno while Lexaeus blacked his brother from Xigbar's wrath.

The weight on his back was taken off with a cry of displeasure from Demyx. Xigbar turned around and saw that the brick wall known as Lexaeus was holding his blond brother by the back of his shirt, "You're not going anywhere alone with him." The giant lowly growled. Ever since the older man had come to live with the pack Lexaeus was the most hostile towards him.

"But Lexy!" Demyx whined as he tried to rip his shirt out of his brother's grasp, "Mama said I could! He needs to shift and learn the layout of the woods anyway!" The smaller boy's sea green eyes started to tear up as he looked at his capturer, "Pretty please? Nothing will happen promise!"

Xigbar just glared at the two. He didn't want to go out with Demyx. He hated the hyperactive blond. And he had no interest in changing into a wolf anyway. If anything he'd return to town and pretend none of this had happened. That sounded like a good plan.

"Lexaeus put your brother down right now." A blond wolf whose fur was a shade or two lighter than Demyx's said as he walked up to his pups, "Really he's almost fully grown, I think Demyx can take care of himself." Prompto chided as he nudged the larger of his pups in his side with his nose till Lexaeus let go of Demyx, "Now are you going to show Xigbar around the woods?"

"No." Xigbar deadpanned before Demyx could say anything. The young blond pouted and whimpered. Xigbar's golden eye caught Lexaeus's in a stare, "What? I thought you didn't want us being alone. Think I'm gonna fuck the lil' bitch up." He growled out making Demyx whimper more, "And what's your problem? I don't like you! And I sure as hell don't wanna spend any more time than I have to with you!" As he yelled Xigbar could feel his body get tenser like he would literally snap and bite at the watery eyed blond at any second.

The wolf glared at Xigbar, "That's no way to talk to the person who found you and saved your life. Demyx has stuck by your side through all of this. What exactly has he done to deserve your hate?" Prompto bared his teeth in a threatening manner as he growled at Xigbar.

"It's not like I asked for him to follow me around!" Xigbar yelled as he threw his arms up in the air. He was sick and tired of being in the dens. He missed home and he missed Tifa. All the man wanted was to go back and be with his family that he just managed to finally start.

With a dejected noise Demyx pushed pasted his brother and went to sulk back in the cave opening that Xigbar guessed was the blond's den. Once the young one was out of sight Prompto growled as he pounced and knocked Xigbar down on his back making the raven haired man grunt in pain. Xigbar tried to fight back, but with his weakened state the wolf was able to easily hold him to the ground. Prompto snapped at the man's face before saying, "Don't fuck with my pup. He may be young but he knows more things than you will ever hope of learning. And he did everything he could to make sure you were fine even when you would snap at him and try to cause him harm."

Xigbar grunted in pain as he felt Prompto's claws dig into his chest, "'N why should I care 'bout any of that? I didn't ask for any of this!" The man started to push more on the wolf until eventually Prompto got off. Xigbar sat up and took a few shaky breaths as he felt around his chest for anymore wounds. His one golden eye scanned the two in front of him, "As far as I'm concerned all of you are keeping me hostage here."

"Then why don't you leave?" Lexaeus grunted out with his arms crossed.

Xigbar glared at the large man before spitting out, "Fine." And with that said the man started to climb up the rocky slopes with only a bit of difficultly.

~X~x~X~x~

Xigbar halted his story for a moment. His eye glued to the floor and his hands bunched the sheets like he was trying to hold back his rage. Roxas found himself slowly backing away from the man. He didn't know if retelling his story had triggered something negative in Xigbar, and he was afraid of what would happen to him if he said or did anything to draw attention to himself.

The older man seemed to catch himself and sent Roxas an apologetic smile, "Sorry kiddo. The next part of the story isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and I never talk about it. You sure you're up for it?"

Roxas looked away from Xigbar and towards the open door. His mind spinning with thoughts about how even though he didn't feel like he deserved to be in the position he was in, Xigbar had had it ten times worse. Could he handle the rest of the man's story? What else did he have to go through that was worse than what Roxas had already heard?

"How bad is it?" The blond cautiously asked.

Xigbar shrugged, "Well what I already told you is pretty tame compared to what happens next."

Roxas swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. Did he really want to hear this? "What happens next?"

~X~x~X~x~FLASH~BACK~X~x~X~x~

The sun had gone down about an hour ago and the only light Xigbar had was provided by the moon, but his newly founded night vision helped him not bump into any trees or trip over anything. He had been aimlessly wondering around for a few hours now and was just getting himself more and more lost.

"What did I get myself into?" Xigbar asked himself. If he had just listened to Tseng he would be at home right now, holding his slowly growing wife in his arms. Maybe a nice slab of meat over the fire. The ashy raven haired man got so wrapped up in his own fantasies he didn't hear the sound of a branch snapping behind him.

Suddenly a sharp pain like claws surged up Xigbar's back. The man yelled in pain as flashbacks of his last attack flashed before his eyes. Had the Lycanthrope that attacked him before come to finish the job? Xigbar collapsed under the weight of his attacker, ready to just give up.

But something wasn't right. The claws were still there, but there were more than one set raking over his body. And at times it just felt like he was getting beaten with a closed fist. This couldn't be the beast that tried to kill him earlier.

Xigbar tried to turn to face his attacker but the fist knotted in his long hair yanked his head up and made him face the monster anyway. Xigbar gasped in fright as he came face to face with a beast with dead yellow eyes surrounded in what seemed to feel like a black void held in place by a pointy helmet.

Looking into the monster's eyes felt like an eternity to Xigbar, but the next thing he knew his face was getting thrown into the ground. A disgusting crunching noise told Xigbar that he either broken his nose or snapped a large amount of sticks. And judging by the pain in his face, he'd guess it was the former.

The man thought he was done for, but a threatening growl made the monsters attacking him freeze, giving Xigbar just enough time to roll out of the way and sit up. Black spots danced in front of his one good eye as Xigbar tried to gain focus, but his head pounded from the beating it took, and he could feel blood drip down his nose. It was then that Xigbar knew he was in no shape to fight or run.

When the spots started to clear the raven haired man saw a small wolf grab one of the monsters by its neck and through it into a hoard of its friends, knocking them all down. Xigbar got a better look at the creators and saw that they were lanky little things. They had large hands and their fingers were long, red, and sharp. On their chests there was a strange heart looking shape. And their feet look big and too awkward to run on.

Once one of the monsters was dead the rest ran off in fright; their overly large hands swaying above their heads. In a matter of moments they were gone. The small wolf walked over to Xigbar and started to nudge the man around with its nose to check for any injuries.

"What are you doing?" Xigbar growled as he shoved the wet nose away from his ribs. He sat up fully with a groan as he felt all of his muscle pull and tighten. The blood coming out of his nose had slowed to a trickle, leaving a trail of dried blood from his nose and leaving his face feeling irritated and itchy, "How many times do I have to tell you to leave me the fuck alone Demyx!"

The wolf's ears instantly went down and his bushy tail went between his legs, "I'm sorry. I smelt blood and got worried." Demyx took a couple of steps back with his head dropped down, "Is…is it possible for you to come back to the dens?"

A golden eye glared at the timid wolf, "Fuck you." Xigbar deadpanned as he used the tree behind him to help him stand up. He felt the new wounds in his back pull and rip open a bit as he stood, but he ignored it in favor of getting away from the Lycanthrope. He turned his back on Demyx and started to limp away with whatever dignity he had left.

"No wait!" The wolf bolted up to Xigbar, "It's late and you're hurt. I won't force you to go back," Demyx's voice was laced with hurt but he tried his best to cover it up, "Let me at least walk back to the village with you. I don't want another Heartless to attack you." Sea green eyes looked everywhere but Xigbar, "Please. Let me protect you."

Instead of answering Xigbar just walked away from Demyx, but before he got out of ear shot he called back, "What the fuck is a Heartless?"

Demyx seemed to perk up at that and he trotted over to the graying haired man, "Those creatures that attacked you, they're called Heartless, but those ones specifically are called Solders." The wolf walked beside Xigbar through the dark woods. The farther away they walked from the dens the more and more awkward and unwanted Demyx felt.

"Why are you doing this?" Xigbar asked once the silence got to him. He had been nothing but an ass to the boy.

Demyx groaned and rolled his pretty green eyes, "I smelt blood and felt like something was wrong. Sorry that I care about you." The wolf looked anywhere but at Xigbar, "I can leave if I make you uncomfortable you know."

Xigbar reached up and gingerly touched the red stain under his nose, "But I didn't start bleeding till after you came."

Demyx tilted his head to the side in thought. He was following the scent until he came across Xigbar getting attacked by the Solders, he had just assumed they scratched him bad enough. And since then the air smelt too much like Xigbar, Demyx had thought he was right, "Maybe the Heartless killed an animal close to the Outerlands or something."

Xigbar didn't need to ask what Demyx meant. He picked up from the pack that Outerlands was their word for Twilight Town. It worried the man that the monsters would get so close to his home. What if one of them caught one of his friends or Tifa?

An eerie silence washed over the two as they got lost in their own thoughts and keeping their eyes and ears open for anymore threats that might come their way. Xigbar silently worried about his loved ones back home and was secretly jumping with joy that he would finally be able to get home and see Tifa. He wondered how much bigger her stomach had gotten. She should be showing by now.

Demyx on the other hand felt like his world was falling apart. He found his soul mate, but he already belonged to someone else. Besides Xigbar made it obvious that he didn't like any of the Lycanthrope; thought they were all monsters, and out of the whole pack he hated Demyx the most. Who could ever love a beast like him?

Suddenly both of them froze as the metallic scent of blood hit both of their noses. Xigbar immediately covered his nose and mouth with his hands to block out the offending smell. On the other hand, Demyx smelled the air and his ears perked up, "Hey this is what I smelt before." He looked over at Xigbar, "I don't want to go any farther. What if it's more Heartless? Just come back to the dens. We can go to your home tomorrow."

"I never asked for you to follow me!"

The outburst made Demyx falter in his steps till he was a couple of paces behind Xigbar, "But I don't want anything bad to happen to you." He whined as he stared at the man's retreating back. Yes he knew he was nothing but an annoying nuisance to Xigbar, but his need to protect the man outweighed how annoying he was being.

Xigbar just scoffed as he snapped a branch off a tree so he had a makeshift walking stick, "I don't need a pipsqueak like you. I can take care of myself." He adjusted the stick under his arm so he could lean his full weight on it to help his aching back. And just like that he started walking away from Demyx again, towards the strong scent of blood.

"But you don't even know what's over there!" Demyx cried as he raced after the injured man, "Please just wait till its morning and leave. Come with me so I can look over your wounds." The blond pleaded as he blocked Xigbar's path, "There can't be anything good down there."

Gold glared down into sea green. It was an intense moment of dominance between the two. Neither wanted to give up. Xigbar wanted to go home and pretend like none of this had ever happened. That he wasn't a monster and trapped in a world he'll never understand. While Demyx tried to understand and sympathize, he just couldn't bear anything bad happening to Xigbar.

"Move."

"No."

Xigbar sighed as he leaned more on his crutch as he glared down at the wolf. With a growl the man tried to walk around Demyx only to feel something pull at his pant leg. He looked down to see Demyx with a mouthful of his pants, "Kid let go." He sighed as he tried to pull away, but he wasn't strong enough.

Demyx just growled deep in his throat as he pulled the fabric making Xigbar walk away from the metallic smell. His jaw tightened as he yanked back more trying to drag Xigbar back to the dens.

"Will you stop it?" Xigbar yelled as he tried to kick Demyx in the face. He was starting to hate the blond wolf more and more. As his anger started to bubble throughout him. In a fit of anger the man lifted up his stick and brought it down on the wolf with a loud whack!

Demyx instantly let go with a yelp and backed away with his head hung low. He walked a few paces away before turning back to Xigbar with a sad look in his eyes, "Fine. If you want to walk into your death so bad I'll leave you alone." And with that the wolf turned and walked away, leaving Xigbar alone in the dark woods.

Once Demyx was out of site Xigbar continued on the path towards Twilight Town. The thickening smell of blood was getting stronger, making the man gag a bit and have to cover his nose. He kept his eye peeled for anything that might pose as a threat towards him, hoping Demyx was wrong and there weren't any more Heartless around, or even worse. The Lycanthrope who attacked him.

But then it hit him. He knew this smell. Under the metallic, he could faintly smell something he had grown accustomed to over the last few years of his life. He smelt it every time he walked into his home. Every time he woke up in the morning. Whenever he embraced his wife.

The smell was Tifa.

All the pain Xigbar felt vanished as adrenalin rushed through his veins. He ran through the wood, dodging trees and loose sticks as he quickly made his way towards his wife. He knew he was close when the only thing that filled his nose was Tifa and blood.

Then he saw her. She was lying in a pool of blood. Her long hair covered her face, obscuring Xigbar from seeing it. A chocked noise escaped Xigbar's throat as he quickly made his way towards her. He landed on his knees hard, but he ignored that in favor of scooping his wife in his arms and brushing her hair out of her face.

Tifa coughed a few times, blood speckled out and painted her chin and Xigbar's shirt. Her brown, doe eyes opened, void of life. They didn't seem to want to focus on anything for a few seconds. When they did, she looked up at Xigbar with a pained smile, "I knew you were alive." She weakly smiled as she tried to lift her hand and touch her husband's face, but a pained yelp left her lips.

Xigbar held her arm down and threaded his fingers through hers, "Shh…don't talk." A golden eye looked over Tifa's mangled body. She was covered in scratches, bite marks, and a large gash on her right hip. Most of them were almost deeper than that, making her bleed immensely. The ones that concerned Xigbar were the chunk of her calf missing, and the hole in her stomach. There were also some bites in her arms and her thighs, but they looked like they had already stopped bleeding and were starting to bruise, "What happened?" Xigbar asked, completely forgetting he didn't want Tifa to talk.

"A…a man came to, to me." Her eyes closed and her breathing faltered for a moment before she was able to speak again, "He looked dirty," Every few words she had to stop to take a deep and painful breath, "And his clothes were all ripped up, he even had dreadlocks. Said he knew where you were so I followed." She turned her head and weakly tried to get closer to Xigbar's warmth, "But he suddenly disappeared and a black wolf attacked me. I tried…I tried to fight him off," Tears started leaking from her closed eyes, "But I guess I wasn't strong enough." Tifa coughed a few more times, spilling more blood on Xigbar, "I…I don't think I have much longer. I love you."

Tifa chocked on some more blood before her body went limp in Xigbar's arms. Everything in the forest seemed to suddenly go quiet to Xigbar as he tears started to leak. Soon the man doubled over and was crying into the still warm corpse of his wife.

~X~x~X~x~

Xigbar grew quiet. His hands balled into his pant legs and his golden eye glared at the floor as he tried to stop himself from crying. Roxas back at the head of the bed, cuddling a pillow and his feet tangled in the blankets. The poor boy looked like he was on the verge of tears as well, but he wanted to hear the end of the story.

"Then what happened? How did Demyx become your mate? And you were bitten so that makes you a submissive like me too. What happened during your first heat?" Roxas fired off his questions in one breath like his eagerness would continue the tale.

Xigbar just sighed and shook his head, "Do you really wanna know what happened?" The older man fixed his eye on Roxas with a slight glare making the blond retreat into his blankets a bit more, "Demyx found me and brought me back to the dens. We fell in love and have five wonderful children together. And now I'm trying to tell a knocked up crybaby a fucking story so he'll get out of his god awful pity party and go make up with his dumbass of a mate." Xigbar snapped making Roxas cover his face with his pillow like it would help protect him from the older man's rage.

"I'm sorry." The blond said in a muffled voice.

"Are you going to go apologize to Axel?"

The tuff of blond hair sticking out from the pillow nodded showing Xigbar that Roxas was nodding, "Good. Now get up and go find him."


End file.
